A Different Pitch Black
by jackalope21
Summary: This is just a little story I wrote. I added a new character to the plot, a person who knew the 'old' Riddick. Let me know what you guys think!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. This is my Pitch Black story. I've revamped it a bit cause damn. I reread this and there were typos, typos, typos. Not to mention some of it was kind of confusing to boot. So, I redid the chapters and I'm replacing them. Plus, I've finished 90% of the Chronicles section, so I think I'm just going to add that too along with the Dark Fury section. Might as well keep the whole Universe in one story. :) Let me know what you think and hopefully, I've cleared up this writing a bit. Thanks!**

**Chapter 1**

The restraints were beginning to hurt his wrists, rubbing him raw and cutting off the precious circulation to his hands. It had been twenty plus minutes since Fry had left the broken ship where he was tied and set off with the others to find Zeke. So why did he sense somebody nearby?

There were no footsteps, no scent of fear and no quickened heartbeat, so if someone was there, they weren't scared. The wind blew in through the door, bringing with it the dry, sweltering heat from the desert outside and something unexpected. There was a sweet smell carried with the current, the scent of a woman.

A grin crossed his lips as he cocked his head back, giving himself better access to the aroma. He tilted his head from side to side for a brief moment, doing his best to peek through the holes in his blind fold but having no luck in the process.

"You're new." He said, his deep gravely voice carrying easily through the air.

The stranger didn't reply, only began the slow trek closer to the restrained animal. The footsteps were light, cementing his 'female' theory. She had 'light' feet, five four maybe five foot five and couldn't be more then a buck twenty pushing it.

This person was small, petite, and walked with authority, something the other women around here didn't do. She didn't have the 'worker' smell to her either like Shazza or Fry, so that was interesting. Come to think of it, he didn't even remember smelling her get on the ship with the others. Still, the foot steps advanced until he could _'feel'_ her less than four feet from him.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked.

Again, he was met with silence. Whoever it was they didn't want to be recognized. The situation was becoming irritating, made all the more annoying by the lack of communication. He was losing the little patience he had and decided that if they weren't scared of him right now, they would be. Riddick lunged violently at the newcomer, growling like a caged animal, hoping for some reaction. He waited until silence fell once more.

She was inches from his face; apparently she knew his reach and acted accordingly. She was just outside his perimeter, close enough he would have been able to hear her breath quicken and her heartbeat, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. She still wasn't afraid of him. It was beginning to piss him off.

Riddick leaned forward and smelled her again, a long deep breath, sure to inhale everything. As he exhaled, he felt something lightly touch his lips. It was soft, slightly wet, and he quickly realized what it was. Her tongue. She had licked his lips.

Riddick couldn't help but be taken aback by the small action, but felt himself become intrigued. He smiled and chuckled lightly as he licked his own lips. To his disappointment, there wasn't much of her left behind to taste. It had been years since he had been with a woman, not something he wanted to admit to himself but it was the truth.

"No fear." He said with a slight laugh. "I like that."

"Then you'll love me."

Riddick's heart quickened pace at the sudden sound of her voice. He had become almost accustomed to the silence when he spoke, but was grateful none-the-less that she showed some form of life. He grinned and took his seat back on the bench, arms still in the cuffs.

"And you are?" he asked.

"No one of importance." She answered simply, coming even closer to him.

Riddick's head turned to the side as he felt her hand glide delicately up his arm, her fingernails digging into the sensitive skin and sending chills up his spine as she came closer to his shoulder.

"You're brave." He muttered in his deep voice. "You don't know who I am, do you."

A light giggle touched his ears, a sweet, dulcet tone that held nothing in the ways of apprehension or worry.

"Richard B. Riddick, currently an escaped convict from the Sklar prison planet in the Milky Way galaxy, no more then a few months trip from here. You were serving a 200 year sentence for a quadruple homicide." She said simply, a hint of a smile in her voice, her hand making its way to his chest.

He felt a sudden burning inside his gut as she spoke. He knew he was being followed by mercs and god knew what else, but he had hoped a bounty hunter wouldn't have gotten to him while he was tied up. His muscles tightened and his fists clenched, his knuckles turning white.

Without provocation, his legs, which were still unrestrained, came up and gripped the small woman by her waist. He clamped down on her tightly, threatening to squeeze the life from her, but something wasn't right. Again, he didn't feel her heartbeat quicken or sense any fear, although her breathing was becoming shallow. He squeezed harder as she tried to wrench herself from him.

"Riddick… please…" she muttered, trying to find some pressure point on the man's tree trunk sized legs.

"Who are you?" he growled.

"Riddick stop…" she whispered. "I can't…"

"I asked you a question!" he bellowed, voice echoing off the walls.

She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. Instead, her hand came up and snatched the blindfold from his eyes, the last burst of energy she had remaining. The suddenly light was almost enough to make him shy away and let go of her, but his grip tightened and he waited for a moment for his sensitive eyes to adjust. Finally, the burning and searing pain subsided and he got his chance to look at the now limp, unconscious body in his grip.

"Rhyalla…" he muttered, immediately dropping her from his clutch and let her limp body hit the ground with a thud.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He sat in silence, staring down at the limp form lying on the cold, steel floor. It couldn't be her; I wasn't her, was it? His eyes glanced over her body, thinking of how she could have gotten here, why she had come and a slight hint of pride if it really were her for tracking him down. Riddick couldn't help but simply stare, mind flooding with memories of the young woman. She was responsible for one of the first people he had killed.

He remembered being released from the first slam he had ever been sent to, nearly fifteen years ago. His PO sent him to a halfway house run by this scary old bitty, bitter and mean. While he was there he met another young girl like him, cold, resentful, and abandoned by her parents when she was a baby. Perhaps that's what drew him to her in the first place, the mutual abandonment they had felt in their lives, being discarded like garbage after being born, being forgotten.

One night, while Riddick had been walking around the outside of the _'compound'_, he heard screaming. Running around the corner, he found one of the other young men beating the hell out of Rhyalla. The next few moments were a blur. All he remembered was pounding the kids face until he felt the ground beneath it, blood running off his hand. By the time he was done, there was nothing left of the kid and he realized this would be a one way ticket back to the slam. He ran, not his most proud moment but he was only fifteen/sixteen years old.

She had followed him and the two had grown close for the next year or so, dodging mercs and cops alike as the bounty and Riddick's ruthless reputation grew. In reality, some of Riddick's kills were hers, but he wasn't above taking them as his own. He wasn't sure if it was to keep her out of jail, or because he liked the fear his name created.

Their luck ran out however, and Riddick was captured. The years after were another blur, randomly coming into contact with her throughout, but usually taking it upon himself to vanish before things got too 'real' for his tastes. The last time he had seen the woman he knew as Rhyalla, was more then four years ago, right before he had got taken in again, but she was in trouble then too. As far as he had known, she was captured, so this couldn't be her… right?

He knew the only way he would really be able to tell was her back. The woman he knew had a large, distinct tattoo that covered most of her delicate skin, something she had acquired not one week before he had left for the final time.

Riddick tried his best to roll her over onto her stomach, not much caring how ridiculous he looked or how hard it was. Slowly, he managed to get her on her side and with his oversized feet; he did his best to push up the back of her shirt. As he inched the dust covered, sweaty fabric, the convict heard foot steps and arguing in the distance.

_Great fucking timing…_ he thought to himself.

The voices grew closer and soon he had to give up on his pursuit to confirm her identity. Riddick quickly shuffled his way back into a sitting position and titled his head down so he could look as innocent as he could for being a convicted murderer and one of the most wanted men in the Verse. Within seconds, Johns came walking through the door, gun in hand.

"Who the fuck is that?" he asked coming to the girl's side and nudging her with his foot.

Riddick merely shrugged, his head still pointed down.

"I thought you'd be done killing people by now." He said with a slight smirk, kicking her over onto her back. "Not too bad looking though. Friend of yours?"

"Probably just another Merc looking for me." He replied, eyes still on the ground, but inching slowly towards her body.

Johns back tightened and Riddick could sense his hesitation, it made him smile. Slowly, the 'cop' made his way up to the convict.

"Finally found something worse then me huh?" he laughed.

"So here's the deal. You'll work without chains, without bit and without shiv. You do what I say when I say it."

"For what, the honor of going back to some asshole in a cell? Fuck you." Riddick replied irritated.

Johns sighed, licked his increasingly chapping lips and turned his attention back to the man in chains.

"The truth is, cause I'm tired of chasing you." He admitted.

The convict's eyes shifted to the man in the uniform. Things just kept getting more and more interesting the longer he was around.

"You sayin' you'd cut me loose?" he wondered, curious as to just how twisted the man claiming to be a cop was.

"I'm thinking you could've died in the crash." He offered.

"My recommendation," Riddick began in an eerily calm voice. "Do me. Don't take the chance that I'll get shiv happy on your wannabe ass."

"Okay."

"Ghost me motherfucker, that's what I would do to you." He continued defiantly.

Johns' response was simple and quick. He unlatched his gun, cocked a round into the chamber and fired within the span of seconds. Riddick's head turned to the side, unwilling to watch as the bullet ripped through his skull. But when a moment passed and he hadn't died, he noticed it.

Chains began to rattle, his arms no longer as tense as before. Slowly, cautiously, Riddick lowered them. They fell freely, the chains that had once been holding him slid effortlessly through the railing and scaffolding of the ship's interior and to the ground.

Riddick's brows pulled together in the center of his forehead. It wasn't that he was ungrateful to be set free; it was that he wasn't sure why it happened. Johns remained confident, cocky, as he stepped forward.

"I want you to remember this moment, the way it could have gone and didn't." He said, being sure to assert himself as he produced the con's goggles. "Here."

Riddick leaned forward to take his eye protection, but at the last second lunged for the weapon hanging loosely in the 'cops' grip. He spun it around and aimed it squarely at Johns' throat.

The Bounty Hunter froze, his arms coming up as Riddick debated whether or not to actually fire.

"Take it easy." Johns muttered quietly.

"Fuck you!" Riddick bellowed, steeling his aim on the man.

Johns remained still. He stared at the con holding his own weapon on him. But, even with the fear that saturated him to the point it seeped through his pores along with the sweat, Johns kept his mind on the task at hand.

"Do we have a deal?" he asked, as though he weren't nearing death with each breath.

Riddick couldn't believe what he was hearing. This piece of shit was trying to bargain with him. He felt there might be something he could use the spineless man for in the future though.

And then there was the fear. The sense of fear he got from the people around him was intoxicating and the most addictive thing he had ever felt.

"I want you to remember this moment." Riddick answered cryptically, his voice even and calm.

As he tossed the gun to the side and snatched the goggles from the Bounty Hunter's hands, he noticed the limp body of the woman lying on the ground next to them, still unconscious. Slowly, he knelt over and picked her up in a cradle hold. At the moment he didn't care Johns might take it as a sign of weakness. In truth, Riddick just didn't trust what the man would do to her if he left her lying on the torn steel ground.

The large man glared at the weaker human before taking his newly acquired cargo to the main hull of the ship and set her down with her back against the wall. He waited, watching Johns walk away before turning to the young woman.

The light was still a little too bright so he placed on the goggles he'd been handed, not able to look her in the face as she sat in the sun. With her still out, he had ample opportunity to examine her face.

She had the same delicate features as the woman he knew, the same dark hair that was always in a bun, the same fair skin. While she was like this, he knew he could move her without her becoming violent. Slowly, Riddick leaned her forward, her head resting on his shoulder, as he began to lift up her shirt. Beginning at the base of her spine was a black design, slowly, as he pulled the shirt up further, he saw the rest of the ornate tattoo.

His breath caught in his throat, a mixture of curiosity and pride as he laid her back against the metal surface once more. Lightly, he tapped the side of her face. Nothing. Again, he tapped her face, gradually waking her from the slumber he had put her in.

Groggily, she looked around, everything still a bit fuzzy, before seeing him crouching in front of her. She paused for a moment, staring at the bald head and hollow eyes looking back at her before finally he came into focus. Riddick smiled slightly as he pulled the goggles off, resting them on top of his head. He watched as she looked at him questioningly for a moment before frowning. In a fury of movement, her arm shot forward and landed a hard blow on his face, knocking him to the side.

"Feel better?" he asked, stroking his chin as he regained his crouched position in front of her.

"Was there a need for that back there?" she asked as she tried to stand.

Rhyalla winced in pain from broken or at least bruised ribs from their meeting. She paused, nearly falling over before he held his arm out to help her. She steadied her dizzy head and took a few breaths as she leaned her back against the comforting, contorted steel.

"How the hell was I supposed to know it was you? Haven't seen you in years, thought you'd be dead by now. You were running last time I saw you."

"Like wise. But it looks like I didn't get caught." She said angrily.

"Why you here?" he finally asked as she came to stand.

"Heard you might be on a transport, thought I could have some fun." She replied before looking into his shining eyes. "I was wrong."

"They know you're here?"

She shrugged a shoulder.

"Doubt it. How many are there?"

"I don't really know. A few holy men, couple kids, a cop, some chick passing herself off as the fucking captain and a few others."

"A cop? Really?" she asked with a smile.

"No. He's just a Merc in a pretty outfit." He said before smiling slyly and taking a step forward. "Why are you really here?"

Rhyalla cocked an eyebrow as he placed his hands on the wall behind her on either side of her head, his face inches from hers. She eyed him, peering into his black, deadly eyes. Honestly, they were enchanting, whether you wanted to admit it or not. You could see the blackness that seemed to reflect most of his character, but the silver reflection when the light hit them was unlike anything you would ever see. It reminded her of a hurricane, the colors twisting and intermingling like the deadly storm clouds before they devastated everything nearby.

She smiled sweetly, her hands coming up his muscled abdomen to his chest, fingernails sporadically digging into his flesh. A groan was heard, deep within his throat, approving her actions as she brought her hands to his face. Still smiling sweetly, she let him lean in a bit further, knowing he was anticipating a kiss.

Riddick could feel the heat from her skin, smell the sweet scent she always emitted and wanted to taste her once again, after all this time. His eyes closed and as his lips parted, longing to join with hers, he felt her grip tighten. Suddenly, his head was pulled back only to be brought forward, violently connecting with her forehead.

The man stumbled back for a brief moment, his head in his hand. She smiled her contentment, and a giggle escaped her mouth. Riddick shot a look at her, his face cold, angry, and vengeful. She knew that look, and she knew the ones who got it, never lived long. Fearing she had taken her game too far, Rhyalla turned to run only to be snatched back by her waist.

Fear finally took hold as his massive paws enclosed around her narrow waist and thrust her body into the fallen staircase nearby. She hit it hard, the sound of flesh hitting metal echoing in the empty chamber. She winced in pain as one hand came up and grasped her hair, still tied in a bun, tightly. He jerked it maliciously, making her cry out in pain, tilting her head back violently.

"You know better then to '_fuck'_ with me." He growled, grip tightening as he spoke.

"Get off me." She hissed.

"Oh come now Rhya…" he said with a slight laugh, his mouth coming within inches of her exposed neck. "You know me better then that."

"I'm warning you Riddick, let me go or I'll…"

"You'll what?" he asked, his lips grazing her skin.

"Or I'll scream." She replied.

"Exactly."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

His hand moved up her waist and callously grabbed her breast, squeezing it in his fist. She yelped at the touch, music to his ears. With her neck still exposed, Riddick took his opportunity and bit down on her tender skin. Her hands gripped the metal rails around her tightly, hoping for something to steady her.

With one final pinch of her chest, his hand began to migrate south, lightly tracing the random parts of bare skin that showed through the torn fabric of her shirt. He felt her squirm under his touch, trying her best to escape.

_How cute. _He thought. _She thinks she can run off._

"Stop it…" she whispered.

"Say it like you mean it." He said with a laugh, biting her neck again.

Rhyalla groaned as his hand slowly made its way to the hem of her pants. His fingers toyed with the thought of going any further. He could feel her heartbeat quicken, thudding erratically within her chest, and he knew that her ungodly green eyes were closing with anticipation. Her breath was becoming short, partially due to the level of excitement and the anticipation of what was to come. And her scent, oh her scent…

Riddick had always had a heightened sense of smell, sight and a few others that he couldn't explain. Fear was usually his favorite emotion to smell. It was around him where ever he went and the special blend of endorphins and adrenaline was next to almost none, almost. Lust on the other hand was something entirely different. The way her body was reacting to his touch, to him being so close was intoxicating. The mixture of adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine was something you would only get from an emotion as wonderful as lust.

His fingers were soon tired of the teasing and began to make their way into her tight, leather pants. He heard her breath catch in her throat, waiting to escape when he came in contact with his target. He took his time, but part of him wanted it almost as bad.

Riddick's own excitement was mounting as he found his fingers lightly touching her soft panties. He was within inches of the goal, the one thing he had been wanting since being locked up, a woman. As one final act of defiance to her, he grabbed the thin fabric between his fingertips and gave it a slight tug. He felt her gasp again and smiled.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps made him pause. Looking up, the two of them saw a young boy standing in the doorway, a few feet from them, gawking and staring at them. Riddick felt himself smile wider, knowing the boy had been watching before accidently revealing his presence. He stared at the stunned child over Rhya's bare shoulder, the young woman through the few tousles of hair that had escaped her bun.

"What?" Rhya asked rudely, obviously angry they were interrupted.

His mouth opened and he attempted to speak but was having little success. He was being glared at by a known killer and someone he didn't recognize, each of the more then capable of harming him.

"What?!" she yelled this time.

"Ooo, testy." Riddick whispered into her ear.

"Johns… Johns wants you Riddick…" he mumbled before running away.

"Great." He sighed.

"Cute kid." She said, waiting until he had retracted his hand and stepped back before moving. "I think I may have scared him a bit."

"You could say that." He said with a smile. "Till next time."

She smiled and the two stepped outside to the group waiting for him. They turned and looked to one another at the sight of the newcomer and the fact that she seemed frighteningly 'chummy' with the murderer they all feared.

"Who are you?" Fry asked, taking a step forward to solidify her rank as the one in control.

"Rhyalla Kendros." She said eying the pathetic woman. "You?"

"The Captain, remember it." She snapped. "Alright, let's go."

"Ooo." Rhya mocked to Riddick.

He smiled and grabbed the load he was supposed to carry before setting out behind the others. As they walked through the god forsaken desert, the others couldn't help but keep looking back periodically at the awkward pairing, one was bad enough and now there seemed to be two.

"So, click your fingers and he's one of us now?" Shazza asked with a smile.

"I didn't say that, but at least this way, I don't have to worry about you guys falling asleep and not waking up." Johns replied.

"And who's the other one?" she asked. "She another like him?"

"You can say that. The two of them have their own reputations, but she's nothing to worry about." He replied with a fake smile, not quit believing his own words. In truth, he wasn't certain who the stranger was, only had her name.

Slowly, they made their way towards the settlement, Riddick and Rhya walking behind the group, talking, plotting. As they made their way up a sand bank, a bottle of wine fell from the thinner man's satchel and began to roll towards the convict. Riddick snatched it up before he could reach it.

"Paris P. Ogilvie, antiquities dealer, entrepreneur." He said nervously extending his hand to the man.

Riddick looked at his hand and at the young woman at his side before he grinned and grasped it tightly.

"Richard B. Riddick, escaped convict, murderer." He replied, shaking the man's hand before popping the cork out of the bottle.

"That's a particularly good Shiraz…." He said, watching as Riddick began to drink from the bottle. "It's lovely at a drop… It's very expensive." He sighed as Riddick continued to drink until the bottle was near empty. "By all means, help yourself."

Rhya couldn't help but giggle at what had just taken place. It was then, once Riddick had thrown the bottle down, that Rhya took her chance. She gripped the back of his head and directed him towards her. Her mouth connected with his and Riddick couldn't help but smile to himself as she explored him, trying her best to elect some of the remaining flavor from his mouth.

Riddick knew what she was doing, but he didn't mind. Paris had begun to grow increasingly uncomfortable however, watching the killer kissing a lovely young woman who as far as he knew, was normal. As she pulled back, she smiled to him and licked his lips once more before turning to the frail, nervous man at their side.

"It was quite lovely." She said with a smile, licking her own lips. "Oh, I'm sorry, how rude of me. I'm Rhyalla Kendros." She said with a sweet smile, extending her hand and shaking his. "I've never been convicted."

The slight smile on the poor man's face faded and he quickly turned to run off. Rhya glanced to Riddick and laughed her arm still around his shoulder.

"I think we scared him." She said with a smile.

Riddick grinned slightly and the two set off after the group. It took a little while longer then they would have liked in the heat, but they finally made it to the settlement. Riddick was instructed to dump off his gear near the skip and soon slipped away from his 'overseer'.

He paced around, watching and observing everything nearby. He was at the 'Coring Room' when he heard someone coming up behind him. Shifting his stance, he noticed it was only Rhyalla. She smiled, wearing a pair of sunglasses she had found somewhere, modeling them for a brief moment before continuing her advance. Her smile soon faded though, the closer she got.

"Have you found anything?" she asked, moving her glasses to the top of her head.

"No." he replied, shaking the door once more. "Things don't look right around here."

"I know." She said taking note the door was chained from the inside. "There are possessions in all the rooms, toys, clothes, and every heavy door's chained from the inside. These people didn't leave, something got them."

She looked to him and noticed he was still looking around at everything.

"So what's the plan?"

"Don't know yet." He said before looking down at her. "But I've got a few things in mind."

Riddick looked down at her and took a few steps closer, his hands came down grabbed her ass tightly, cupping it in his massive palms and picked her high into the air. Rhya smiled and laughed as her legs wrapped around his waist. Her arms slinked around his neck as he walked towards the wall. As her back began to lightly touch the wall behind her, Johns came walking up.

"Riddick." He called.

The convict sighed and turned to face the Merc, the young woman still in his arms. She couldn't help but smile as she moved her mouth to his neck, nipping periodically. It wasn't the fact that he had to 'play along' with Johns that made her smile, or the fact that he was obviously annoyed with the man, what held her attention was the fact that he was still holding her and carrying on with Johns as though she wasn't in his arms. He must have looked ridiculous.

"You're missing the party." He said before slapping his leg like he was calling a dog. "Come on boy."

Riddick slowly let the young woman slide from his grip, each of them exchanging knowing looks. She turned to him and motioned to the tarp. He nodded his head, knowing what she was referencing to and waited as she turned to leave. The convict watched her walk off, enjoying the view before turning to the large tarp that covered the generators and giving it a hard yank. As it fell to the ground, the young boy Jack let out a yelp at being discovered.

"You're missing the party, come on." He told him, mocking Johns.

He began to trek back to the main room where the others were, but wasn't going to make it a straight shot; instead, he took a detour to the ship. His hands traced over the small breaches in the hull, judging the amount of damage and doing his own calculations before leaving. As he finally came to the main hall, he began to overhear their conversation.

The poor bastards were too diluted to save. It was going to take more than the subtle hints Riddick and Rhya could pick up on to convince these people. As he slowly made his entry into the room, he saw the others scattered around, drinking water and conversing, while Rhya sat perched on a shelf, listening to this entire thing with the same disbelief he had.

"These people didn't leave, come on. Whatever got Zeke got them." He said looking over to the only person there that knew him before placing his goggles on his eyes.

"I'm fairly certain they're all dead." Rhya replied.

"Maybe they had weight limits, you don't know." Shazza said to the two of them, trying to rationalize what she feared was true.

"I know you don't prep your emergency ship unless there's a fucking emergency." He said with a smile.

"He's fucking right." Jack replied.

This was the first time Rhyalla had noticed the young boy sporting the same hair cut and goggles as Riddick. The young woman laughed before turning to the con who simply shrugged with a slight grin.

"Then what happened if you two know so much?" Fry asked rudely.

As Riddick opened his mouth to speak, the holy man Imam came running in.

"Has any one seen the little one?" he asked worriedly.

"Have you checked the Coring Room?" Rhya asked with a grin that made the people in the room uncomfortable.

The group quickly filed out while the two outcasts remained behind. Riddick grinned again and walked closer to her, relieved the others were finally gone. She watched him, her legs parting just enough for him to step between them.

"So, how long do you think it'll take to get out of here?" she asked, her head cocking playfully to the side.

"Not sure yet." He replied with a grin, his head swooping down and breathing her scent in completely. She moved into the action like she always did. "I just got to make sure to get the cells here first. Then we're gone."

"We?" she asked with a smile. "How long till you run away again?"

"I don't run." He smiled.

His head came forward, lips lightly grazing hers. She was passed trying to restrain her self, done teasing and tired of dancing around what she wanted. As though moving on their own, her legs wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer. The small space between them was closed quickly and she felt him chuckle, deep within his chest as their lips finally made contact.

Slowly, he parted his lips as her tongue began to delve into his mouth, feeding from him hungrily. Riddick did his best to show some restraint, tried to hold back his animalistic nature and keep him self from grabbing her and ravaging her completely. Although, part of him knew she would love it almost as much as him.

As their tongues dueled, he felt her hands climb up his back underneath his shirt before digging her nails into his skin and running them back down. He groaned loudly at the sudden feeling of pain mixed with pleasure before grabbing the small tie holding her hair and ripping it from her. Her black tresses spilled in long waves down her back and Riddick didn't hesitate entwining his fingers in them and pulling hard.

She let out a moan of satisfaction which was soon over shadowed by the screams of the others. Their heads shot in the direction of the screaming and quickly heard gun shots following. The two couldn't hold back a smile to one another before bounding after the sounds, hoping to see a few of the naive people had been taken care of.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The pair bolted towards the open doors and peered over the shoulders of the others just in time to see the last flurry of bat-like creatures disappear into a shaft underground. They exchanged looks of slight concern before making their way inside after the others.

Imam emerged from the far corner of the vast room with the mutilated, unrecognizable remains of the young boy who had gone missing only a few minutes before. He was on the verge of tears, walking pass the group and to the distance, his other followers running after him. Johns looked from Fry to the gapping hole, and back again before walking forward.

"This could be more fun then I thought." Rhyalla said to Riddick with a smile.

He nodded as the group made their way to the open passageway. Johns lit a flare and tossed it down. The bright green light illuminated the multitude of skulls and bodily remains of those who had fallen before them before landing on a bed of bones.

Riddick leaned forward and relayed his feelings while Rhya walked around the room, doing her best to find any other sign of the creatures. As he finished his speech, the other pair walked off while he came to her side and sat on a bench. He watched as they began to leave the room, leaving the two of them alone, even if for another brief moment.

"So how's your vision been?" he asked as he leaned his head back on the wall.

"Not bad." She replied with a smile. "Night vision isn't as good as yours, but you know I manage."

"You know we're going to have to move quick. These dip-shits don't know what the fuck's going to happen."

"I know." She sighed before leaning back against a rebar support beam. "How many do you think will make it?"

"None."

"Ever the optimist." She said with a smile.

He grinned back at her and quickly shot his arm out, snatching her hand and bringing her forward.

"Don't get any ideas." She said with a smile.

He cocked his head to the side, wondering why she would say something like that. When her head tipped to the side, he knew what she meant. Tilting his head to the right, Riddick saw a faint hint of Jack sticking out from behind an open door.

Jack froze in his spot, unable to move. He felt his feet glued to the floor, weighed down by the sheer amount of fear. He had been caught and there was no getting around it, he had been caught spying on them for the second time.

After a few moments of no change, Rhya couldn't help herself. She turned to face the young boy completely, making herself all the more intimidating and hissed like some kind of feral cat. The sudden, evil sound sent shivers down Jack's spine and gave his feet a new life. Quicker then he thought possible, he ran from the building and from the two criminals inside.

"That necessary?" Riddick asked with a cocky tone.

"Just having a little fun." She laughed. "At least I smile periodically."

"I smile."

"When someone dies." She teased. "So, you don't think they'll be smart enough to get the cells here soon?"

"Nah. By now Johns has told 'em how I escaped last time." He sighed. "They'll wait as long as fucking possible and probably leave me here."

"Doubt it." She said with a smile. "Last time I saw, you were worth 750K. I'm thinking I might just save Johnny boy the trouble and slit your throat right here."

Riddick looked up at her, face unchanging as she pulled a blade from a hidden spot behind her back and lightly traced it around the major arteries in his neck. He tilted his head back letting the cool metal touch his sweltering skin and couldn't help but enjoy it.

After a few seconds of letting her play, his arm shot out once more and grabbed her wrist, twisting her body around and holding her against his chest, her own knife at her throat. She smiled, waiting to see what he would do before feeling his grip loosen.

"Come on." She said as she stood.

Rhya smiled and grabbed his arms, pulling him to his feet. The man was reluctant to do much of anything but he knew he had to make an appearance, no need to make the Merc jumpy too early.

As they made their way into the same room as before, they saw Fry playing with a model of the planets, helping them circle one another faster then their usual pace. Within seconds, the planets blocked out the light from the three suns, a complete eclipse.

"You're not afraid of the dark are you?" Riddick asked with a smile.

Rhyalla couldn't help but laugh at his comment and the contentment in his voice as he spoke. The two exchanged looks of pride and some form of happiness while the others stared at them with disgust.

Immediately, Fry ran from the building, making her way to the ship, Johns not far behind. Rhya smiled once more before making her way outside the building herself, finding a few spare pallets that had been piled up on the side of a structure for twenty plus years. She hopped on top of them, laid down and began basking in the sun, gladly listening to the conversation between the 'Captain' and 'Cop'. After all, it was always fun to hear people talking about someone you know, especially when they're scared.

She let the heat envelope her body, her eyes close and slowly began to slip into a slight slumber. Time had gone by without her noticing until she felt something walk up to her side. She didn't bother opening her eyes, sensing it could probably just be Riddick.

"You're in my sun." she replied simply.

The person didn't reply so she did her best to pry her eyes open. Instead of being met with something she would have enjoyed looking at, she saw Johns, staring down at her with a smile on his face.

"Can I help you?" she asked simply, laying her head back down on the tattered wood.

"So," he said, kneeling down beside her. "You and Riddick huh?"

She didn't reply, feeling he wasn't worth the words.

"Look here," he began, voice low and mean. "I got your boy over there under my thumb and if you fuck with me in anyway, I will not hesitate to shoot you or him in the fucking face right here."

Rhya simply smiled, laughing slightly as he spoke. Johns looked down at the small woman, his anger growing at the lack of fear he was able to instill in her. He lost slight control of himself and grabbed his gun, pointing it right at her. Again, the young woman simply smiled and laughed.

"You think this is a fucking joke?" he hissed.

"Yeah." She laughed. "I do."

Riddick came walking out of the ship just in time to see Johns aiming the shotgun at Rhya, shaking in either anger or withdrawal. He stood back, leaning against the hot metal of the ship's hull and watched, waiting to see if she had learned anything new.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right fucking now?" he asked cruelly.

She smiled wide again and sat up, moving her glasses to the top of her head so she could see him, eye to eye.

"Ooo, I love a man with authority." She said with a cocky grin.

"Really?" he asked slyly, immediately placing his gun back in its holster.

She smiled wider, her foot coming up and tracing his inner leg gently. He grinned wider, enjoying what was happening more then he thought possible.

"Yeah." She cooed. "Riddick's fun and all, but have you seen the bounty on his head? It's such a tasty offer."

"You… you saying you'd turn him in?"

"In a heartbeat." She replied. "Dead or alive right?"

There was more enthusiasm in her voice then he would have thought, but something about this whole thing intrigued him.

"Where's your weapon?" he asked, taking a seat next to her.

"You don't need one." She said with a smile, her hand coming up and lightly touching his chest. "When you've got feminine wiles. Besides, he trusts me."

"You are an evil woman." He chuckled.

It was then Riddick came walking up to her side, eying both of them suspiciously. The large convict simply stared at the 'wannabe' cop, waiting for him to leave.

"Can I help you boy?" he asked Riddick.

The large man simply stared at the imposter, glaring at him beneath the goggles. As the two leered at each other, Johns felt something rise in his stomach once more. The sun was beating down on him, the heat filling his lungs and it was becoming too much. Glaring once more at Riddick, Johns ran off towards the shelter of a nearby building. As the simple, broken man walked off, Riddick turned his gaze to the young woman.

"What the fuck was that about?" he asked curtly.

"Nothing." She replied with a sweet grin. "Just being friendly."

She still smiled wide, beaming with pride that she had pissed the man off so completely.

_Women,_ he thought to himself. _Another creation to make men's life a living hell._

Riddick motioned for her to follow and she did, gladly. As they made their way around the building, they saw the outline of a ringed planet, peeking over the horizon. Her mouth gaped open at the sight before them, something so rare, so awesome and completely horrifying at the same time.

"Beautiful." She mumbled.

The others spoke for a while, just out of their ear shot, before scattering and making their way to the "Sand Cat' and loading up.

"You coming Imam?" Fry asked the holy man and his followers.

"No, we shall stay behind and keep things safe here." He said before bowing lightly. "Ala is with you."

Fry nodded as the group made their way onto the small vehicle and set off for the wrecked ship. They sped through the dunes and bones from the graveyard before rushing to the ship. As though it had been choreographed, the men jumped down, made their way to the cells and began removing the ones they needed. Riddick had two slung over his shoulder; Johns had another and Fry with the final one.

As they threw the heavy cells down onto the rear of the vehicle, the rest of the planet in the distance became visible. The sun began to disappear behind the rim of the massive orb, the last rays showing brightly before being squelched away for an unknown amount of time. The group of people stared into the distance, awe struck at what they were witnessing.

Suddenly, the roars and screeches of the unknown beasts sounded loudly. Within seconds, a flood of them emerged from the dunes in the distance, swirling into the sky like a choreographed swarm of death.

"How many are there?" Johns asked as he walked up behind Riddick and Rhyalla. "Riddick?"

He didn't reply, simply stared off at the wondrous creatures.

"Beautiful." He whispered to himself.

"People, just a suggestion, but perhaps you would flee!" Paris yelled from the safety of the over turned storage crate.

"Let's move!" Fry yelled.

Rhya didn't like her in the slightest. She thought the woman was more or less, useless. But none-the-less, despite her more then obvious suggestion, the shipwrecked people ran as fast as they could to safety as the creatures swooped towards them.

Riddick and Rhya exchanged quick glances before running in the same direction. He watched, in slight amazement, at the speed the young woman had, dodging between the pieces of ship and making it back to the crate well before some of the people who had left before her. She was quick.

Riddick, however, was a bit slower when it came to 'marathon' running and lumbered behind. He felt them closing in and with the screaming of both Rhya and Fry, he and Shazza leapt into a ditch dug by the crashed ship.

As he hit the ground, Riddick felt the wings of the animals flash by him, the breeze grazing over his skin as they flew. He waited; waited until he was certain the creatures were gone before standing. Shazza was on the ground, gripping a sprained wrist as she stood, peering around her in fear of what could come out of the dark after them once more.

The two strolled back, still glancing around, to the others waiting for them. Rhya smiled her relief as he came walking closer, while Paris and the others, out of sheer fear, ran and hid inside. Fry was behind Rhya's left shoulder and went to the other woman, checking her wrist to make sure she would be alright in the long run. As she examined the minor injury, they heard a much more terrifying sound.

The smaller creatures had a high pitched, weak sounding screech, but what came from the distance was worse. The deeper, louder sounds sent chills down the spines of the four standing near by. As the darkness engulfed their surroundings further, Riddick and Rhya removed their eye coverings, and stared into the distance.

Riddick could see, clearer then day, the 'termite-like' mounds crumble and break as the largest animal he had ever seen with wings began flying out and into the air. Their screams echoed loudly over the vast plains, their massive wings flapping hard to get their heavy bodies into the air.

"What is it Riddick? What is it now?" Fry asked concerned.

"Like I said," he began with a slight smile "It ain't me you got to worry about."

Fry sighed heavily and ushered her friend into the chamber with the rest of them while Rhya and Riddick remained outside for a moment.

"Thought you wouldn't make it." She said with a smile.

"You know me." He grinned. "You are quick, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." She smiled. "Come on."

She grabbed his arm, pulling him inside and shutting the doors behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Inside, the group of seven found a small room, far inside the bowels of the crate, enough room on either side to keep them safe from anything being shoved through the metal walls, but not so much room they wouldn't know if something was trying to get in. And there they sat, for a longer time then most of them would have liked, in complete silence before Fry spoke up.

"How many bottles you got?" she asked Paris.

"I don't know, maybe ten."

"And you still got some flared right Johns?"

The man eyed her and nodded.

"Then maybe we got enough light."

"Enough for fucking what?" Johns asked.

"We stick to the plan. We get the cells back to the ship and we get off this rock." She replied, eying him wearily.

"No." Rhya said simply.

"What did you just say?" Fry asked her rudely.

"I said no." she stated again. "We've got a woman who's injured, a child who may or may not be able to keep up, and no offense man," she said pointing to Paris. "But another who has no business doing anything like this."

"She's right." Shazza sighed. "I won't be able to carry anything with my wrist the way it is."

"Then what do you suggest?" Fry asked rudely.

"You'd be better off with a small group getting the ship ready and coming back then you would with everyone going at once. There are too many necks to worry about if we all go and I refuse to do it." She said as she leaned back in her seat.

"Then how do you fucking suggest getting out there then huh? Can you see in the dark?" Johns asked her offensively.

She didn't reply, simply glared at the man with the accusatory tone in his voice.

"We can't…" Fry said before looking at Riddick. "But he can."

The con turned to look at the group staring at him expectantly.

"There's no fucking way I'm going to let him go and give him a chance to escape." Johns snapped.

"Then go with him." Fry yelled back. "We don't have many choices. Either some of us go and all of us survive or all of us go and only a few of us live to tell the tale. What do you want to do?"

Rhya couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had been the one to suggest it, but Fry acted as though it were her plan all along. Then again, it was the best way for her to manipulate the ridiculous woman.

Johns sat back, eying both Riddick and the young woman who had made the suggestion. He was skeptical and rightfully so. Thoughts began to course through his head of what could possibly happen on the long trek back to the ship, his mind weighing the pros and cons.

"Are we all agreed then?" Fry finally asked. "A couple of us will go and a couple will stay behind?"

"Fine." Johns replied with a sigh. "How do we decide?"

"Who wants to go?" Fry asked the crowd.

No one in the room raised their hands, all too frightened of what might happen. Johns stood, and paced for a moment before speaking.

"Riddick has to go," he said glaring at the convict. "He doesn't have a choice; he's the only one who can see in the dark. And there's no way in hell I'm letting him out of my sight."

"Who else then?" Shazza asked.

"How bout we draw straws?" Jack suggested meekly.

"Fine." Fry sighed as she walked off into the distance.

The group stayed in silence for a few moments until the young woman came back into the center of the room with a few different pieces of string in her hand. She grabbed a knife from Johns and cut them into two separate lengths. She placed them in her hands and went through the usual motions of mixing up the lengths. Riddick and Rhya shot one another an unbelieving look before she turned back around.

"There are two long strings, those ones will go and the other three will stay since Johns and Riddick are spoken for." She said.

The young woman made her rounds to everyone individually, letting them draw their lots before taking the one she had left in her hand. She sighed, having one of the three shorter in her grip. Her plan had back fired on her. She had wanted to go and the only way was for her to make it more possible with four leaving instead of just three. But now, she had no choice but to remain behind.

Rhya, Shazza, Jack and Paris examined theirs and were oddly surprised. Paris and Shazza sighed their relief at having two of the shortest strings. Jack looked down at the string in his hand and felt the breath catch in his throat, and to Johns delight, Rhya was coming as well.

The ordinarily cold young woman glanced to the child and noticed the fear in his face. It was obvious to anyone that cared to look and it brought emotions to the surface. She didn't like it and it forced her to speak before she could stop herself.

"Can you keep up?" Rhya asked Jack, showing him the first sign of affection since meeting him.

"Yeah… I can." He replied, still eying the long string in the palm of his hand.

"Fine." Johns said, standing and acting as though he was taking charge. "We'll make our way to the ship, get you guys as much light as we can and take the rest ourselves. Then me, the kid, her and Riddick will get the ship prepped, bring it back round and pick you up."

The others nodded and quickly began to gather the rest of flashlights, torches and bottles of liquor before gradually making their way out of the crate. Slowly but surely, they crept closer to the ship, watching the black curtain that seemed to be hanging just outside the reach of their light, waiting to see if anything was going to come after them.

After a close call, the group made quick work to gather anything and everything they could possibly need. Jack sat off to the side of the generator, thinking about what could possibly happen while Riddick explained what they were going to do to survive this. When the two of them were done talking, Johns came to Rhyalla's side and gathered her up.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked as he ushered her into a separate area.

"Shut up." He hissed, looking around paranoid before turning to face her.

The dim light managed to pick up every little crease, wrinkle and scar he had gracing his aged face while the same orange light seemed to make her eyes glow iridescent yellow. He looked at her, eying her up and down for a moment.

"If you're fucking with me…" he began.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she whispered.

"If you're going to help me with Riddick, I need to know your angle."

"My angle? Why the fuck would I have an angle? I knew the kid years ago and after he dumped me on Vernon 2 I decided if he's going to look out for no one but himself, then I'll do the same. I've been tracking him down ever since."

"Bullshit." He muttered, still eying her.

"Bullshit?!" she snapped unbelievingly. "I don't need this from you. I can take care of him myself. At least then I'd get the whole bounty."

She turned to walk away, but was quickly pulled back by her arm. She stared at the hand clenched around her bicep before shifting her gaze to him. Anger burned in her eyes at being touched, either that or being accused of being a liar.

"How much of a share you looking for?"

She cocked an eyebrow, slowly making her way back to her previous position in front of him, tearing her arm from his grip.

"60-40." She muttered.

"What?" he asked, looking around to see who could have heard him before turning back to her. "No _fucking_ way. 70-30."

"Fuck you." She muttered, trying to leave again. "I'll just wait till he kills you then I'll take care of him."

Again she turned to leave, and again she was pulled back. He looked at her with a resigning look on his face.

"50-50?"

She eyed him, looking him up and down for a moment. She didn't trust the man in the slightest, he was gutless, a coward, and a con-artist. He had everyone here believing he was some sort of policeman instead of what he actually was. It was pathetic. Granted, she wasn't forth coming with who she was either, but she felt it wasn't any of their business. After all, she didn't think they were actually going to crash on this fucking planet anyway.

"Fine." She replied, sticking her hand out and shaking his. "You fuck me over and I'll kill you too." She replied before letting go of his hand.

"Likewise." He answered.

It was a shaky truce for the moment but it was the best she could do. She needed the man to trust her, to help her; otherwise this whole thing wouldn't work.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The young woman stared at the man, the 'cop' as everyone set about gathering supplies for the trip. Riddick had already gotten the strap he felt like using, one with ample light protecting his back. Jones had something similar but it left more than enough places open for one of those things to get him, something she would enjoy thoroughly. And then the little one and she would be using the bottles of liquor. Rhya didn't mind. She knew how to handle herself and knew not to leave an opening. The kid was another story. She could tell, just by the way he handled himself, that he was terrified. She couldn't understand what it was about the kid that made her feel 'maternal', but it was there. Growling to herself, the young woman stood and made her way to the opening of the wrecked section they were inhabiting.

Rhya stared out into the thick blackness, staring into nothingness and listening the god awful hissing and screeching of the creatures they were about to have to sift through. Her eyes couldn't see as far as Riddick's in the black, but she could make things out, see farther than a human thanks to her enhancements. She could at least see the danger. But as she stood waiting to leave, someone came up behind her. Rhya ground her teeth as she listened to the soft, unsure footfalls of the newcomer.

"Um…. Miss Kendros…" the weak voice muttered.

Turning, Rhya saw the frightened Jack walking up behind her. He refused to look her in the eyes and honestly she couldn't blame him. She had intentionally gone out of her way to frighten him. A smile touched her lips, but as she watched him fidget and rub his hands together, something crept into her gut. It was a disgusting feeling, one she didn't understand, or even remember having before. Pushing it down, far into herself, she spoke.

"Can I help you kid?" she asked, trying to remove any harsh tone from her voice.

Slowly, Jack daringly looked up. This was ridiculous. Jack idolized Riddick, but was terrified of her.

"Uh…" he hesitated.

"You're scared. Aren't you?" she asked calmly, her attention returning to the scene before her.

Jack slowly walked up to her side and peered out into the same curtain of black. Chills ran up his spine at the sound of the shrieking animals in the distance. Eventually, with Rhya watching out of the corner of her eye, he nodded his head.

"Look kid," she said sweetly, turning to face the young boy. "You'll be fine."

Jack felt a weight being lifted slightly from his shoulders. But as Rhya stood there and stared into the kids eyes, something caught her attention. Gradually leaning down, Rhya leveled her eyes to the boy and stared into his face. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched him twitch and move uncomfortably.

"Ya know something?" she said with a slight smile. "You kind of remind me of someone I used to know."

Jack felt his heart calm as the smile on Rhya's face turned into a genuine one.

"Don't worry about it." she smiled, smacking him on the shoulder. "You'll be okay."

Feeling a bit better, Jack sighed his relief before heavy footsteps sounded loudly behind them. The sound echoed off of the metal walls almost sounding harsh to her but she recognized them immediately.

"Scat kid." Riddick muttered, his deep voice sending shivers down Rhya's spine.

Immediately Jack scampered off into the interior of the cabin while Riddick stretched himself out, gripping the overhanging chunk of metal and letting himself remain lengthened. The two stood in silence for a moment, Riddick more than capable of seeing everything in the distance while Rhya could only see a few meters out.

"So what were you and Johns talking about?" he finally asked.

"Nothing." she lied.

He sensed it in her voice and glared at her. His frustration rose slightly. The young woman had been spending a few hushed moments with Johns and he didn't like it in the least. Even less with her lying.

"Really?" he asked.

"Sorry to disappoint." she answered, her eyes still training on the horizon.

"The two of you been spending a lot of time together…"

"You're seeing things…" she answered.

His anger peeking, the convict turned quickly, grabbed her and forcing her up against the metal she had been leaning against. Rhya grunted in pain as a piece of steel dug into her back. She glowered at him, a cold expression on his own face.

"What?" she asked angrily.

"Don't fuck with me." he growled, pushing her harder into the wall. "You really think I don't see it?"

"Do you trust me?" she asked, her anger wavering slightly.

Riddick twitched. He hadn't meant to, but that particular question had never been presented to him.

"What?" he asked, his own anger changing.

"I need you to trust me."

The man was taken aback enough to loosen his grip on the young woman and take a step away. He wasn't completely sure on how to answer the question.

"The hell are talking about?" he asked, for the first time seeming unsure.

"Just trust me okay?" she replied, her voice turning on edge a little more than before. "You can kick my ass when we get back to the shuttle."

He stared at her for a moment before grumbling.

"We're about to leave." he finally said as he changed the subject.

"Are the others set?"

"They have a generator pumping out some light. They'll be fine. The power cells inside it will last until we get back."

"So we're coming back then?" she asked with a wicked smile and cocked brow.

"We'll see how it plays out." he answered in the same tone.

"And the _cop_?" she asked as though there was a disgusting taste in her mouth.

"I'll deal with him later." Riddick growled.

"Good. I don't like how that son of a bitch has been leering at me."

"Thought the two of you were buddies now."

Her eyes shot to his, catching the dim light of their surroundings and glowing for a brief moment. Riddick's brow furrowed as he examined them, wondering why they had reacted the way they had to the dim light. She simply stared at him, not liking the tone of his voice.

"You got a problem with me talking to him?"

"I've got a problem with him." he growled.

"Awe." she smiled as she walked up to him and placed her hands delicately on his chest. "Are you jealous?"

Riddick didn't reply only stared down into her fluorescent green eyes as she neared his face. Without moving, he let the young woman kiss his lips lightly.

"Don't worry." she told him quietly, her eyes turning a bit more serious than before. "Everything's going to be fine in the end okay?"

Narrowing his eyes, Riddick watched as she walked back into the hull and waited until they were ready to leave.

As the four gathered in the opening to the broken ship, Johns smiled to himself. His mind swirled with what he planned on doing when the time was just right.

He would be the hero, emerging with the villain in his cargo hold. After the flight had gone down on the abandoned planet, he was the only one to survive. The two carcasses would be lying in the back of the shuttle and he knew there wouldn't be any questions. The dead body of a convict and his accomplice. Maybe she would fetch a price. Who knew? But he was going to have a hell of a pay day when Rhya killed Riddick and Johns took care of her.

As for the others, he had tried to help them by bringing back the cells to save the day but for some reason the holy men didn't make it and the generator couldn't hold out long enough until he came back. The four removed power cells would take care of that. The generator needed five to last but after sneaking them out, there was no way the thing would last more than an hour or so.

He beamed with pride as his mind went through all the details. It was perfect, down to the last bit. Riddick and Rhyallah noticed the action. Glancing at each other, the young woman turned to the 'cop'.

"You okay there Johns?" she asked with a cocked brow.

"Fine." he smiled. "Just thinking."

Rhya and Riddick stared at one another and with a slight nod from the large man, the group set out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Riddick's ears were trained on the distance, listening to the things around him as he tried to find out the best thing to do with the people that were following him. He didn't know why he was tolerating them really. If it were up to him, he would leave them all behind. Rhya wouldn't be though. He knew that. She was too resilient to be left behind. Besides, she would probably kill him if he tried. The thought made him smile as the four of them came to a slow pace before stopping.

Rhya stared at the large man, her own mind so busy with everything else that was going on and going to happen that she hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing. She should have. Glaring around, she saw what they had done.

"The hell is this shit?" Johns asked when he noticed their tracks on the ground. "You think this is a fucking joke boy?"

"Shut up Johns." Rhya sighed. "I'm getting sick of listening to your bullshit."

The man spun around, his gun pointed at her square in the chest. Jack shuddered and backed away from the conflict a bit more. Riddick only watched, waiting to see what was going to happen. Rhya simply smiled. Johns' grip was shaking ever so slightly.

"What's the matter Johns?" Rhya asked with a cocky smile. "You're shaking a bit."

"You think you're so fucking clever don't you?" he growled. "What makes you think I won't fucking blow your head off right now?"

The young woman's smile faltered ever so slightly, just enough for Johns to notice. His smile widened.

"That's what I thought." he smiled before turning to Riddick, his gun still aimed. Rhya rolled her eyes the moment Johns wasn't staring at her anymore. He was a moron, but she needed him. Though his use was dwindling. "The fuck do you think you're doing here?"

"I circled around to think." he told the deranged man calmly before turning back to the area in front of them. "The valley down there's full of them. It's suicide. Especially with the girl bleeding."

"The fuck you talking about? She's not cut."

"Not her." Riddick replied before turning to Jack. "Her."

"Shit." Rhya sighed loudly. She had sensed something was wrong but didn't think it was that.

"I'm sorry." Jack cried. "I should've said something but…"

"We can take her back to the ship before going through." Riddick said, ignoring her whimpering pleas of being sorry. "At least then we have a chance."

"Fuck that." Johns spat. "Just stuff a cork in the fucking kid and let's go."

"She'd be safer there." Rhya said. "It's not that far anyway. She might as well just wait for us."

"We aren't going back!" Johns spat, this time wavering slightly.

"Why are you so against this Johns?" Riddick asked curiously.

"What'd you do?" Rhya asked irritated.

"I'm not going to catch grief from a pair of fucking killers." he growled. "I did the same thing you two would've done."

"They're… dead. Aren't they?" Jack asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No shit. Now fucking butch up and let's go."

For a moment, no one moved. Riddick stared at Rhya, speaking to her internally. Johns watched as her eyes never faltered from the large man, but something else happened that was far more interesting. Without her knowledge, Rhya had moved ever so slightly in between Johns and Jack. Riddick noticed the movement. He growled to himself, unaware she had heard it. Scowling, Rhya narrowed her eyes to him. Slowly, Riddick shook his head. Rhya sighed.

"Come on." Riddick finally muttered disappointed.

Rhyallah felt her heart jerk. She knew what he was reprimanding her for but she couldn't help it. Without another word, Rhya grabbed the kid, holding her closer to her side and followed the two men.

"So here's the deal…" Johns began after a lengthy silence.

Riddick groaned internally. How much longer was he expected to listen to this man's bullshit without sticking him? He was only human, as far as he knew, and there was only so much a man with his patience level could take.

"You do the kid and I'll keep Rhya off your back."

Riddick couldn't hide his laugh.

"You really think you can control her?" he asked with a sideways glance back to the man.

"Don't worry about her." he replied with a slight smile. "She's under control already."

Riddick exhaled a slight chuckled, shaking his head as he looked forward once more.

"So why the kid? Why not her too? She's got a bounty." Riddick muttered.

Rhya walked behind the two, more than a few feet and didn't like what she was hearing. She didn't know if Riddick knew she was able, but she was and didn't like where their conversation was leading. With her spare hand, Rhya grasped Jack's shoulder and applied a slight bit of pressure. Looking at her strangely, Jack did as she was told.

"Just a little further." Rhya muttered, making sure to remain close enough to hear but not so close she couldn't act if she had to.

"Does she really?" Johns asked happily. "How much?"

"Who knows." he shrugged. "But there's a few planets that would like to get a hold of her."

Rhya's back tightened.

"She's had some work done." Riddick smiled. "More than enough people would pay to have a geno-morph."

A low growl emanated from the young woman's throat as she listened further, one she knew Jack couldn't believe or understand but she didn't care. She was losing her patience with the two men in front of her and was starting to rethink her previous deal with the bounty hunter. Johns, on the other hand, loved what he was hearing.

"Well if she does she does. But the kids got to go first." Johns finally said.

"I don't know if you'll get pass Rhya."

"She's nothing a shot to the chest won't take care of." he sneered.

Riddick growled.

"Oh don't tell me you have a soft spot for the bitch?" Johns laughed. "When she was so willing to sell you out."

Riddick's head snapped to the bounty hunter's smiling face.

"You didn't figure that out?" Johns asked with a laugh. "The bitch sold you out. Thought she would get me to help her control you and split the bounty after she gutted you."

"Isn't that what you planned on doing anyway?" Riddick asked, angry his suspicions were confirmed.

"Hell I'll take you in alive, get the bigger bounty and they can deal with you later. I don't give a shit what you do after I get paid." he shrugged.

"Well, well, well…" Riddick muttered to himself. "Isn't that interesting..."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Rhya walked a few paces behind the two men, not liking what she was hearing or that Riddick seemed to be considering it. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her mind trying to find some way out of this to save her own skin.

Johns couldn't stop thinking about the money. He loved money. He breathed it and it was the only reason he got into his current job. If Rhyalla had enough cash on her head, he'd consider leaving her alive, but the risk was high. It may not have been as high as keeping Riddick breathing, but he didn't know what she'd been spliced with and geno-morphs were unpredictable at best.

"So, how much of a bounty does she have on her head?" Johns asked, not willing to let the chance for more money pass him by.

"Enough." Riddick replied cryptically.

"Well, so much for gutting her and leaving her to rot."

Riddick tensed his grip slightly at the haunting laughter coming from the man beside him.

Rhya glared her internal hatred at the man, thinking of all kinds of unsavory things to do to him when something caught her attention. Deep within the darkness, she heard screaming. Rhya stopped, her hand lightly touching Jack and instructing her to do the same as she looked around them. There, far behind, was a light, a blip in the darkness.

"Riddick," she called, bringing it to the convict's attention.

The barreling man turned to see the same orange glow coming towards them. His brow tensed curiously as he tried to see what it was, what was holding the beacon in the middle of the blackness, but the light itself was making it difficult.

"The fuck is this shit?" Johns growled.

The small group's attention had shifted to the source of the yelling, an angry voice not the terrified screams they had become accustomed to. Johns felt his back tighten when the image of a face became visible in the orange glow of what they now knew was a torch.

Fry.

The woman made her way straight for Bounty Hunter, picking up the pace and all but running when she saw they had stopped. Anger and hatred touched her features as she dropped the makeshift torch at Rhya's side and rushed the man.

Her fist shot out and connected with the cop's jaw but it did little to even sway him. Either she wasn't strong or just didn't have the conviction behind her assault. Johns didn't miss a step, swinging around and landing a blow to the back of her head sending her violently to the ground. He wasn't about to let some bitch put her hands on him.

"The fuck's wrong with you? The hell you doing here?" he bellowed angrily.

"You left us to rot." she replied quietly, her voice distant. "They came for us when the light went out. There was so much screaming… they just… ate everyone…"

Jack felt her stomach turn; nearly spilling everything she had eaten at the thought of what might have happened while Rhya met Riddick's eyes. Their faces were blank. Johns backpedaled frantically, trying to find a way out of this. He had already freely admitted to setting them up to die so they wouldn't have to come back with a ship, something he had been proud of until one of the others survived.

"Look," Rhya said, walking forward. She had long since lost her patience with both of these people and being only a few dozen yards from their location wasn't helping calm her. "The two of you want to settle this shit later, fine. But do me a favor and shut the fuck up."

Riddick laughed to himself as a flustered Johns turned his rage on her.

"I've had just about enough of your fucking attitude." he growled, producing his gun once more. "I'm thinking dead might just have to be how I deliver you."

Rhya growled under her breath, tired of him, of everything. Moving faster than the man could register; she grabbed his gun and jammed the butt up, cracking it into his nose and sending him flying backward. Still holding the weapon, she took aim at the man cradling his bloody nose.

"No, _I've _had just about enough of _your_ bullshit." she hissed angrily. "And I'm starting to think I don't need your ass for anything anymore."

"How the fuck you going to collect the bounty then huh?" he shot back, not about to keep hiding their deal anymore.

Rhya's eyes suddenly shot to the blank face of Riddick staring back at her. Johns took his chance and reached for his sidearm, He fired. Rhya screamed as the bullet tore through her arm.

The man was a worse shot than she thought, but it was still enough to take her back. She growled loudly, taking aim and firing at the man. Johns screamed as blood poured from his thigh. Rhya took her chance and kicked the small weapon out of his hand, sending it flying into the blackness.

"Fuck. You." she hissed at the man.

The air was thick and quiet for a moment, the only sound being the haunting calls of the flying monsters in the background. The other two women knew the sound would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

"Let's go." Riddick finally chimed, drawing any lingering attention to him.

With Jack's help, Fry had already come to stand and together they grabbed the power cells. Without even bothering to look at Johns, the two women followed Riddick into the horizon. Rhya remained for a moment, staring blankly at the pathetic excuse of a man on the ground, clutching his wounded leg. She cocked a brow to him and began expelling every shell from the shot gun before tossing it into the darkness to join his sidearm. Without another word, she left.

"Wait!" Johns called as the small procession faded. "You can't leave me here!"

His calls fell on deaf ears. Johns attempted to stand more than once only to hit the ground hard. Rage surged through his body as he did his best to crawl to the torch Fry had dropped. He reached for it, holding it high into the air to see if he could spot anything helpful around him.

The orange glow of the torch began to fade slowly, sputtering as it lost fuel to keep burning. The echoing shrieks of the monsters sounded louder than before as they moved in. Their clicks and calls were surrounding him, taunting him from the shadows. Johns moved, swinging the torch around violently to keep an eye on everything. The fire sliced through the night but it was getting weaker and the way Johns was swinging it around was making it worse.

Frantic to keep his eye on everything around him, Johns swung the torch too hard, the flame sputtering to nothing. He held it close, the embers barely glowing as he tried to breathe new life into them. Flapping wings grew closer, moving in from behind. He spun around to see his attacker only to feel something slice through his midsection. Johns felt blood fill his lungs, seeping out of his mouth as he tried to breathe, choking on the substance. He coughed violently, throwing up more of the copper liquid only to have another beast fly in and snatch his head from his shoulders before disappearing back into the sky.

The headless corpse fell to the ground with a light thud, the rest of the stalking monsters swooping in and ravaging it completely.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"You were going to collect my bounty?"

Rhya looked up. She had been deep in thought to the point she didn't realize she was walking next to Riddick. Her arm hurt, badly, and now she was bleeding. The best she had managed to do at the moment was tie her hair ribbon around it, the long strip of black cloth the only thing she could really use on her upper arm wound.

She glanced sideways at the man and smiled.

"Wouldn't be the first."

Riddick scoffed slightly and nodded. It was true. At least once before, Rhya had 'sold' him to someone and after collecting the sizable bounty, she'd await his escape and the two would fly off.

"I can't exactly walk into a slam and turn you in, not with my face on Wanted lists. Thought the asshole would make a better mule, but I just couldn't take all his bullshit. It wasn't worth playing the subservient accomplice."

He listened to her brief explanation. Honestly, he hadn't been completely surprised she had considered it, but going in with Johns was the part he couldn't forgive. The man was a fucking merc. Disgusting little cockroaches, all of them were.

"You're bleeding." he said after another lengthy silence.

"I'm fine."

"They have your scent now."

She turned a skeptical eye to the man. She didn't like the tone of his voice, not in the least. He sounded… plotting. Riddick saw the glare out of the corner of his eye but didn't pay it much attention. In the end, she was willing to work with Johns and she was hurt, drawing more attention to them than he wanted. Between her and the girl, they were becoming a fucking buffet as they walked through the vast cavern of death and bones.

"I can take care of myself." she finally said in a low voice.

Riddick didn't reply. There was a sudden scream from behind, alerting them to the other people that had been following them. When they turned, Jack was pinned underneath the bones of something long since dead while Fry tried to shoo the monster away with as much light as she could. Smoke came from the creature's skin but it did little to actually sway the thing's ravenous hunger.

Fry yelled at it like you would a stray dog eating your trash and it responded as such. Indifferent. Eventually its tail swung around and connected with Fry's chest. She flew through the air and hit a rock face hard. She let out a loud shriek of pain before crumbling to the ground, something protruding from her back. Riddick and Rhya moved.

Riddick rushed for Jack, ready to fight one of the things that had been stalking them. Rhya however ran for Fry. Setting down her bottle, the only one that seemed to have survived thus far, she scowled at what she saw. When she had been thrown to the ground, Jack's bottle exploded on the rocks and it still wasn't enough to scare the beast off.

Using the only light that was really left, Rhya knelt down by Fry's side and examined the wound in her back. A chunk of bone was dug deeply into her, possibly severing her spine in the process. She gripped the edge of it in her hand and yanked it out with a sickening pop. Fry screamed in pain. The wound was worse than she thought.

Riddick snapped the neck of the monster after ripping its stomach open and looked up at the two. Rhya glanced to him and shook her head. He knew there was no way Fry would make it to the settlement and she was nothing more than dead weight at this point. She sighed as she helped the woman sit up, leaning her against the rocks behind her. Slowly, Jack came to Fry's side while Rhya joined Riddick.

"Now what?"

Riddick didn't reply for a moment as he thought, weighing his options.

Suddenly rain began to trickle down from the skies. Their heads slowly turned up as the sky opened a torrential downpour on the group. Sheets of icy rain stung their skin as it threatened to drown them. With the fresher scent of blood, the predators began to move in closer. That coupled with the rain threatening to extinguish their last hope at light, they had to move.

Rhyalla was the only one that seemed to give a shit out of the two as she slid down the hill Riddick was perched on. She looked around for something to shelter the other two in and finally came upon a cave.

"Here," she called to Jack. "Take the light and go in here. I'll get her."

Riddick watched slightly surprised as Rhya looped Fry's arm over her shoulder and began to heave her body towards the hole in the wall. Fry winced and cried out from the movement while Rhya struggled to keep her balance on the slicking ground before she helped her into the hole. The young woman knelt down and let the limp body begin to slide off her shoulders, propping her against the wall inside.

"Stay here," she said softly, for the first time acting almost human since the others had met her. "Try not to move. I'll be right back."

Fry nodded slowly, Jack doing the same as Rhya stood and made her way outside.

She walked into the rain, looking for Riddick only to find nothing. For a moment, no matter how brief, she wondered if he hadn't just left her there while she was distracted. Her features twisted in anger when she suddenly heard the sound of grinding rocks behind her. Turning quickly, she watched as Riddick shoved a boulder into the mouth of the cave, shutting the poor young girl and dying woman inside. She stared at him curiously as he approached, walking passed her and to the cells. Still trying to understand what she was seeing, Rhya watched as he looped the ropes over his shoulders and turned to her.

"You coming?"

She narrowed her eyes skeptically on him.

"Are you serious?"

He nodded simply.

"You can't just leave her here." she snapped, approaching the man as the rain continued to pour.

Riddick laughed.

"Watch me."

"She's a child."

He shrugged his indifference.

"Then stay. I'm going to the ship." he said, turning towards his destination.

"You wouldn't dare." she hissed.

Riddick glanced over his shoulder and saw her staring at him, a trickle of bloody water running down her arm, her hair plastered to her face as she stared in disbelief at the man.

"I _will_ leave you here."

She stared at him blankly. Riddick sighed and turned to face her, a bit irritated.

"Come on Rhya," he sighed. "What the fuck do you owe these people? Nothing. No ones gonna blame you if they don't make it. Let's just go."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not going anywhere without the girl."

"Fine." he shrugged, turning to leave again.

"You worthless son of a bitch."

Riddick had taken all but three steps before she spoke, turning to see her glaring at him. He threw down the ropes and walked up to her faster than she had expected. Rhya took a step back when confronted by the man. He glared down at her with the same hypnotic eyes he had since she met up with him again after her first real stint in the slam.

"You think you're so different than me?" he growled deeply. "You're cold, cruel and heartless. A monster, just like I am. You can't change that."

She didn't hesitate in her step and continued to stare defiantly at him. She wasn't going to refute what he said, she couldn't and he knew it. But it didn't mean she had to like it.

"Now move your ass."

"No."

Riddick sighed. He didn't want to have this argument with her but she was right, he wasn't going to leave her either. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, and he never would aloud, he looked after Rhya. He was a bit protective over her. She saw through most of his bullshit and even though there was little he hid, she'd seen it. She'd been his shoulder when he needed it and he wasn't going to leave her on some god forsaken planet to die. Unlike the others, he actually knew her. He didn't give a shit about people he didn't know.

Unwilling to do as she asked or leave her behind, he moved. Riddick's hand shot out and landed a hard, open palmed, hit across her head knocking her unconscious. Rhya fell limply to the ground. Riddick's arm shot out and caught her before she landed completely. He picked her up, cradling her as he brought her towards the cells. With his knife, he cut a sliver of rope and latched her wrists together. Making sure they were tied tightly, he looped her arms over his head and positioned her like a backpack before grabbing the rope slung around the cells and set off towards the ship.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Rhya groaned at the sound of an engine firing up. Her head hurt and she made a mental note to skin Riddick alive for laying a hand on her. She heard the ship warming up and realized she was on it. She shot up suddenly, the small area spinning for a moment. She cradled her head and was surprised to feel hands on her shoulders. Turning she noticed the main holy man, Imam, was helping steady her, his face sad and possibly aged in just the few hours of being on the flight.

"Are you alright my dear?' he asked her kindly.

"Fine." she lied, looking around even further. She noticed the others in his group were no longer around and thought it best not to say anything. As she looked, she saw Riddick sitting in the captain's chair running a systems check before take off and that was it, only them three. She stood suddenly. "We're not leaving."

"Sit down." he growled, not about to fight with her further.

"Open the bay."

Riddick did nothing, still flipping switches to prepare for take off.

"Open the fucking hatch _Richard_."

He cringed. It wasn't often anyone said his first name, most not knowing it, and even less often when she said it. Hearing it made him uneasy but he still didn't move. Running out of patience, Rhya moved forward and began to hit the buttons needed. Riddick didn't stop her until the hatch opened and she moved to the back of the ship. Growling and grumbling under his breath, he took off his restraints and stormed after her irritated more than he had been in a long time. Rhya was about to be in the rain again before he grabbed her and spun her around.

"Let go of me." she hissed, shoving him back from her. "You want to go, go, I'm not stopping you but I'm not leaving a fucking kid on this planet."

"This is fucking ridiculous. You don't owe these people anything. You know how easy they were gonna sell you to a slam?" he spat angrily.

"Are you afraid?"

Riddick let out a loud, booming, mocking laugh.

"Me afraid? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Come on Riddick. Even I know there's some part of you that's still human, even if it is small."

His smile faded.

"Truthfully I don't think I ever was."

"You're so full of _shit_." she snapped, Riddick cocking a brow to her. "You're not as cold and mean as you make everyone think you are."

"Four years is a long time. You don't know anything about me anymore."

She scoffed at him.

"You want to run and hide that's fine. But I'm not leaving this girl on this planet alone."

"The fuck do you even care for?" he bellowed.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because the same thing happened to me!" she yelled.

Riddick sighed and looked down. He'd forgotten that. Rhya told him once and only once when they first met all those years ago that she was an orphan of sorts. While he'd been left to die alone as a newborn; her parents had left her at a weigh station on another planet where she'd been sold into slavery. She wasn't any older than Jack. In fact, she was younger by a few years when it happened to her, not even double digit age. He didn't know why he didn't remember it, but it was so obvious now. That was why she had become a bit protective over the child, watching over her. It wasn't just the maternal instincts she had previously assumed, she saw herself in Jack and she wasn't about to leave her behind when there was something she could do about it. No one deserves to be left alone.

"You don't want to help me, fine," she finally said, her voice wavering slightly though it lacked none of its previous conviction. "But you better prey I die here."

And with that she turned and left, running off into the darkness without a light and without his help. Riddick remained still for a moment before lashing out and punching the metal nearest him, slicing a chunk out of his knuckle. Imam watched silently, slowly standing and making his way to the convict.

"She will need our help."

"_Our_ help?" Riddick asked in disbelief.

Imam nodded solemnly. Riddick chuckled slightly at the man, turning his full attention to him. Honestly, he'd have left the Holy Man behind, but it was hard for him to hate someone who so genuinely wanted to help people. He may have thought Imam was naive and stupid with his views on humanity, but Riddick wasn't going to condemn him for it either. Besides, as far as threats went, a man who prayed for results instead of acting was fairly mild.

"Why do you give a shit about two cons?"

"We are all God's children Mr. Riddick."

"God," he scoffed.

"Just because you don't believe in him, doesn't mean he doesn't believe in you."

Riddick's smile faded as he bristled.

"You think someone can spend half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe?" he asked calmly. "You think someone can start their life in a liquor store dumpster with an umbilical cord wrapped around their neck and no believe? You're wrong. I absolutely believe in God. And I absolutely hate the fucker."

Imam scowled at his comment.

"He is with us none-the-less." he answered defiantly. "You're friend is proof."

Riddick seemed to grow cold, frighteningly so to the point it made Imam nervous for perhaps the first time.

"You don't know anything about her."

"She is willing to risk her life to save another. That is enough for me."

Being his final words on the matter, Imam returned to the interior of the ship and regained his seat. Riddick glanced over his shoulder at the holy man praying, his prayer beads moving in between his fingers as he chanted quietly to himself. Riddick's eyes turned back out into the blackness of his surroundings. He scowled, narrowing his eyes to see what he could before something sliced the distance. A scream.

Rhya screamed loudly, her voice far away but loud enough to send chills down his spine. Without saying a word, he rushed off into the black.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The rain stung the man's face as he ran aimlessly through the night, seeking, trying to find the source of the screams. He could hear yelling now, fighting. Something was happening and he knew there was pain involved and he had to stop it. Slipping, it took far too long for him to make his way up the slicked muddy hill of the slope that lead to the crevasse they had all come through. When he reached the top he saw it.

Rhya was in the midst of a fight, bloody and leaning more towards one sided than he felt comfortable seeing. She was attacking one of those monsters from the depths of the planet. It sliced at her with its claws as she reached for a bone lying on the ground. Yelling like a mad woman, she swung landing one hard blow to the side of its face after another. The creature stumbled slightly and when it had she plunged the broken end of the bone into its stomach. The beast shrieked loudly at the pain before collapsing to the ground in a heap. Just because she could, Rhya brought her boot down on its face with all of her strength.

She panted heavily from her exertion before moving again. Off to the side, hidden away, was a blue glow. She reached into it and grabbed Jack, pulling her into the rain and leading her back towards the ship. The two stumbled as they made their way towards the man, him just standing there as they all but crawled up the slope. When they reached the top, Rhya was face to face with his boots. Looking up, she saw Riddick looming over her. A smile lightly curled the corner of her mouth.

"Just couldn't live without me could you?" she teased.

"Don't flatter yourself. You're a bigger pain in the ass than you think." he replied with a slight grin.

He extended his hand and helped her to her feet, Rhya gripping Jack tightly by the scruff of her shirt and hoisting her up. With his help, they could see more clearly than before on the way back to the ship. Riddick took the lead. Their pace had slowed substantially but she was fine with it. He didn't have to run nearly blind through the night, she did. Even with the enhancements and the work she had done, her eyes were nothing compared to his in the dark.

They stalked through the buildings, the lights of the ship not too far in the distance. Peeking around a corner, Riddick saw an alley that was clear, a straight shot to the ship after that. Grabbing Rhya's hand, he helped lead them through. Near the lip of the alley, close to the ship, Rhya froze. Riddick turned; ready to reprimand her when he saw what had made her stop.

Rhya had heard its sloshing footsteps coming up behind them, but he actually saw it and it was looming over Jack. The three turned to see the creature, clicking and hissing at them. Jack damn near screamed before Rhya moved forward and clamped her hand over the girl's mouth.

"Shhh." she whispered into her ear. "Go with Riddick to the ship."

"What about you?" she asked when the young woman's hand left her mouth.

"Just go." she hissed, shoving the girl behind her.

Riddick grabbed Jack's hand and did as he knew Rhya would yell at him to do, showing her the way to the ship. When she was in the clear, he grabbed his lights and went back to Rhya. By the time he rounded the corner to see her; Rhya didn't look as though she needed much help.

The young woman had grabbed the animal by its 'eye' or strange boney protrusion that their eye was on, and swung. With her grip tight, she began to spin, taking the creature off its feet. With one finally turn she launched it into the side of the building with a bone crushing force.

"Show off." he replied with a slight grin.

Rhya turned to see him and smiled wide, just glad she wasn't dead.

"Jealous." she teased, running towards the ship.

"I don't need to be spliced." he countered, the two making their way aboard.

Rhya made a face at the man, mocking him as she took the seat beside him. Riddick closed the bay quickly and went through readying them to leave while Jack and Imam breathed easier within the safety of the ship.

"Just wish you'd thought of it."

Riddick chuckled deep within his chest. Rhya was that kind of person. She was the kind that would volunteer to have some quack screw with her DNA and splice it with something. He wasn't even sure she knew what. All she knew was she was stronger, faster and had better senses than most people she'd met and when you're a person like her or Riddick, that was a bad, bad thing.

He smiled at the thought before something more important crossed his mind. With a vindictive, evil grin, he shut the lights to the ship off and waited, waited until they were surrounded by the nasty bastards and then hit the throttle as hard as he could. He plowed through them, making sure to take as many out as humanly possible before shooting into the air. Soon enough, they broke through the atmosphere's hold and were free from that horrible little planet. Eventually someone else would crash there or try to settle it again but not them, not ever.

Riddick leaned back into his seat, relaxed for the first time. Rhya did the same and immediately hissed and pain when her arm hit the side of the chair. She glanced down at the bullet wound from the moron Johns and scowled, unwrapping it to see how bad it really was. Riddick rolled his head lazily towards her to see the nasty looking mark, near four inches long and now raw and worse than before with what they'd been doing.

"First aids in the back." he said without a tone of caring, turning his attention back out the windshield.

"Thanks dad." she teased, standing and walking to the back.

Taking advantage of the absent chair, Jack slinked forward and claimed it. Riddick smiled to himself at the girl but did little to acknowledge her.

"Lot of people we could run into. Could even be a merc ship." Jack said simply. "What do we tell them about you?"

Riddick took a deep breath and thought for a moment.

"Tell them Riddick's dead." he finally said, turning and smiling slightly. "He died somewhere on that planet."

Imam and Rhya smiled at the comment, the holy man wrapping new bandages around the young woman's arm. She nodded her thanks and stood, walking towards the front of the ship.

"Oh uh, I can…" Jack stammered, beginning to undo her seatbelt at the sight of the young woman.

Rhya smiled.

"Don't worry about it kid." she smiled kindly, turning to Riddick and handing him a small square piece of gauze. "Here."

He looked skeptically at her and she said nothing, pointing to her ear before taking a seat in the back of the ship. Riddick pressed the white to his ear and pulled back to see spots of blood. He shrugged indifferently. It didn't hurt so it didn't matter.

Hours ticked by and soon Jack and Imam were asleep. Rhya took her seat again in the front of the ship. Riddick glanced to her out of the corner of his eye, almost waiting for some smart ass comment that he knew was bubbling just below the surface. Instead she smiled slightly.

"Thank you."

Riddick cocked a brow to the young woman and looked forward again.

"For what?"

"Not leaving."

A grin touched his lips.

"You know I would have hunted you down if you had right?"

He chuckled lightly.

"Yup." was all he replied.


	12. Chapter 12

**And here's the Dark Fury section. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's the small, segway anime they created for the series. It's not bad. Her'es my little addition to the storyline.**

**Dark Fury**

**Part I**

Sirens blared, lights blinked and a voice repeated the stats for the small schooner ship more times than any of them felt like hearing. Chaos reigned around them, waking them instantly from their slumber and told them they were no longer alone.

Riddick tried his best to maintain the damage. He pulled out every trick he knew to try and calm the machine, but they did little to help. Something breached the hull, the stoic, emotionless voice telling them so frequently. He flipped switches and pressed buttons, but whatever held them held tightly. The voice was counting down now, ignorant of Riddick's attempts to keep it still, telling them they were nearing Critical Status.

With a sigh and resigning the fact he wasn't going to escape this situation, the convict shut down the ship and sat back in his seat. Rhya growled to herself, doing the same and checking her arm in the process. They had been traveling only a week, barely time for any of them to heal from the Dark Planet as they called it, and now they were being drawn in.

"First you're a boy," Riddick began. "Then you're a girl, and now you're a psychic. Careful what you wish for, Jack."

The girl managed a weak smile. She hadn't truly expected this to happen; not really, she just caught a 'lucky' break. Unfortunately, whether or not her guess was intentional didn't matter. They were still being hauled into a Merc ship.

"_Unidentified craft,"_ a stiff voice commanded over the comms. "_State your purpose and contents."_

"Well," Rhya sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "This keeps getting better and better doesn't it?"

Riddick scoffed a crooked smile as the voice repeated itself. The con's mind swam with lies he could tell, all of them as believable as the last and easy enough for the three with him to follow while the unseen voice grew impatient.

"_Unidentified craft,"_ he snapped this time, the cool tone gone. "_State your contents and purpose."_

"Blah, blah, blah." She mocked, rolling her eyes. "Shut up already. We hear you."

"_Identify your contents and purpose."_ He repeated, now insulted by the young woman.

"Name's Johns." Riddick offered. "My ship got scrapped on a transport run. The only other survivors are with me. Outside of that, we got nothing."

"_Tell me Mr. Johns,"_ the man replied in a slimy voice that made Rhya cock a brow. "_What brings you to this lonely stretch of space?"_

"I'm a bounty hunter." Riddick replied simply.

"_Well then, it appears we have something in common."_

That was the last thing that was said before the groaning metal around them began to sound loudly. The ship creaked, aged and battered, as they were dragged backwards.

"They're reeling us in?" Jack asked panicked.

The ship continued to move as Riddick and Rhya stood, walking into the bay behind their seats. The lights flickered before going off completely. Riddick reached for his lighter and struck it, a torch in his hands.

"No offense, but I don't think that's going to cut it against whatever's out there." Jack told him, still frightened about the prospects of what might happen.

Riddick didn't speak and held it to the fire extinguishing nozzle. Rhya grumbled her disapproval.

"I'll be washing that shit out of my hair for a week." She sighed, rifling through the things just under the hidden latch beneath Imam.

"What is happening?" The holy man asked.

No one spoke, Riddick still holding the torch to the nozzle as Rhya pulled out a breathing mask and tank of oxygen. It was the safety reserve incase the oxygen within the ship was compromised. There was only one so apparently the captain would survive, but it would work for now. She checked the levels, not encouraged by the less than half tank of breathing air but decided it was better than nothing.

"Hold your breath." Riddick finally said.

A second later, foam poured from the nozzle, expanding and almost instantly filling the cabin. They were soon suspended in it, floating in the mass and holding onto one another. Riddick was the only one that didn't have to close his eyes, his goggles enough to help but the mass was so thick, it didn't matter. Jack was the first handed the oxygen mask and forced to breathe before it was taken away. Then Imam when the hatch burst open and the foam spilled out.

Riddick held tightly to Rhya would held Jack and her Imam, keeping them all within the seclusion. People were slowly sucked into the foam and before they could swim out, Riddick and Rhya moved. She pulled the legs in further while Riddick sliced them, killing all of the Mercs surrounding them. Bullets poured into the foam but lost so much of their velocity they were little more than silver lead trinkets by the time they reached their targets. Riddick moved, swimming to the back of the mass and pushing himself off the ship's hull.

He sailed through the foam and out into the chaos to fight whoever was surrounding them. Rhya handed off the mask to Imam and repeated the man's motion, unwilling to let him fight alone or have all the fun. She was still kind of mad they woke her up in the first place.

No gravity can be disarming when you're not expecting it and now was no different. It took the young woman a moment to gather herself when someone lunged for her. She didn't hesitate to move, swiping the man across the face with her fingernails and sending him spinning from the strength behind it. With his back forcible turned to her, she reached for his sidearm and shot him. His dead body floated away before one of Riddick's victims floated passed her. She would have laughed if there weren't so many people still surrounding them. Bullets ricocheted off everything, guns going blasting away as the two convicts killed one after another after another.

All action suddenly slowed when Rhya caught sight of Jack laying flat on the ground, an impressive weapon aimed at her head by a tall thin man in white. She growled, pushing herself off the nearest beam and flew to the ground, landing quietly with her gun aimed at the back of the man's head. Riddick held someone to the ground, his knife up and ready to slice through the man's throat.

"Call you lap dog off," Riddick said, his eyes traveling up to the woman standing above them all concealed within a cloak. "Before his trying to impress you gets him killed."

"Am I really so transparent?" she asked with a smile, the cloak dissipating around her to reveal the frighteningly pretty and evil looking woman.

"Call it what you want." He replied. "But tell him to stand down. Her trigger finger gets itchy if she doesn't shoot anyone every few minutes."

"You'll have to forgive Jenner. He can be a bit quick sometimes." She told him with a wry smile. "But I must ask you to relinquish your weapon Riddick." The man tensed and her smile grew. "Yes, I know your name, and quite a bit more actually."

"Careful," he warned. "You might find what you're looking for."

"I would be willing to discuss it, so long as you disarm yourself."

"Not gonna happen."

"Really?" she asked. "We'll see about that."

She motioned briefly to the man in white who tensed his grip on his weapon.

"The girl," Riddick said, shifting his gaze over his shoulder. "Is nothing to me. If you shoot her now, you'll be doing me a favor." He replied coldly, Rhya on the other hand hissed and growled an inhuman sound the forced the man in white to look over his own shoulder briefly. "Her on the other hand, well, she'll rip your throat out."

A wicked smile touched Rhya's face.

"Oh please give me a reason." She said in a low voice.

The man in white chuckled, completely unthreatened by her.

"Good. Then we have your blessing." The woman chimed, turning her back to the display.

The tension slowly mounted as Jenner tensed his grip marginally on the trigger, Rhya more than willing to put a bullet in the back of his head, but Riddick moved first. The blade he once held slammed into the side of the stranger's weapon.

"Perhaps I know more about you than you do yourself." The strange woman smiled.

"Now's just not the time." Riddick muttered, his eyes presumably on Rhya before he broke the soldier's neck he had pinned to the ground.

"Lock them down!" the woman ordered loudly. "We're done here."

More Mercs than before and the ones that had managed to stay alive walked into the room, taking hold of everyone as Jenner disappeared along side the woman. Rhya was more than content to keep shooting but with a warning glance from Riddick, she threw her weapon down.

One by one, the group of four were shackled and led into a hall where Riddick was put in a chair and strapped down for added security. The five Mercs surrounded them, weapons drawn and led them down the corridor. Jack and Imam stayed relatively quiet, but Rhya was losing her patience with the one jamming her in the back with his weapon. The next time he did it; she spun around and hissed loudly, bordering on a purely feline sound. Riddick chuckled while the man seemed unnerved by the sound, backing away from the inhuman woman until he touched a wall.

"Watch out Art, sounds like kitty's got claws." One of the other Mercs chuckled as the procession walked.

"You've no idea." Riddick mused to himself.

"Touch me again, I'll rip your tongue out of your throat and make you eat it before you choke on your own blood." She warned in a dark, unnerving voice.

"Enough." Another snapped, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her away from the man she had pinned to the wall with little more than a stare.

When he had, she reacted. Rhya spun around and connected her heel with the side of the man's head sending him violently to the ground before stopping on his throat for good measure. He gargled and choked before dying from lack of air. Her eyes shifted to the others now aiming weapons at her, her face still contorted into anger.

"I do not think the lady likes to be touched." Imam warned to those with the weapons, their dead compatriot at her feet.

"She ain't no lady." The red headed Merc said as they finally continued their walk. "I've seen plenty of you geno-morph freaks in my time. I don't get what makes people want to do that shit to themselves."

"Geno-morph?" Jack asked. This hadn't been the first time someone had said something like that about Rhya, but the woman hadn't ever elaborated.

"Yeah," the man continued, delighting in the chance to frighten the child. He approached her as they stopped in a vast chamber, grinning as he looked down at her. "They slice you open and start injecting you with all this different shit until you can't take it. And then they do it some more. They cut on you until you're not even human, adding all these different strands of DNA to you before sewing you back up and seeing which one took."

Jack stared horrified at the man while Rhya only rolled her eyes at his explanation.

"But people like you go for a decent bounty, all that medical shit done to you." Another said, poking her in the arm with his weapon. "Probably have a nice price on your head."

"Touch me again, and you'll die." She told him evenly.

That seemed to make the man fidget slightly. He'd seen what she'd done to the last man to touch her and given she was a geno-morph, he didn't want to test her abilities further.

They'd finally made it to their break away point and did just that. A few of the Mercs began to lead Riddick away from the trio, much to their disbelief.

"Come on. You three are coming with us." Someone chimed, separating them from Riddick.

"I won't leave without you Riddick!" Jack cried out as she was dragged into another area.

They were being led deeper and deeper into the belly of the ship, to where they didn't know and the fear of it was starting to take over Jack's mind, that and the thought of Riddick being killed. To be honest, that second notion was praying on Rhya's too. She was a bit calmer though, more used to horrible situations than the young woman nearing tears.

"Shh." Rhya said softly.

Jack looked up through teary eyes at the woman walking beside her. Rhya forced a warm smile, but her eyes were preoccupied, taking in everything of the foreign ship.

"We can't let them kill Riddick." Jack pleaded with a shaky voice.

"Something tells me killing him isn't high on their list. At least not yet."

"And what makes you so certain?" Imam asked.

"If that was the case, they'd have shot the ship right out of the air instead of risking bringing him aboard. They knew who he was. They aren't _that_ stupid."

"Perhaps, but perhaps n…"

Imam was silenced with the butt of a gun to the back of the head. Rhya was going to move before everything around her went black and she crumbled to the ground. Presumably Jack was next.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part II**

The lights in the vast chamber shifted red, a curtained wall lifting and a pit grew in Riddick's stomach.

"Oh shit." He sighed, seeing the display down below.

He walked to the edge of the balcony, still wearing his cuffs and saw them, all three of them, standing below. Jack and Imam were closest to him, standing with bound arms on a giant ball, their necks tethered to something high above to keep them from moving too much or risk suffocating. Rhya was just passed them in the same rig and looked thoroughly pissed off. She cocked a brow to the man high above with the crazy people, internally yelling at him. He seemed to notice and let a grin touch the corner of his lips briefly before the woman began to speak again.

"I want to watch you work." She told him calmly. "I have spent the later half of my life watching incredible things, the works of terrible men such as yourself. But it's always after the fact, after the moment the bloody creation is cold and passed. That changes now."

Jenner typed a few things into the piece of whatever he held and opened a distant door behind Rhya. She glanced over her shoulder, unable to truly move, hearing the people still talking high above her but more preoccupied with whatever devil was going to come out from the shadows. She struggled, not with balance but with sight, to pierce the darkness of the shadows.

Crunching and fighting made her realize Riddick had leapt into the pit along with someone stupid enough to try and fight him. She rolled her eyes, the lights suddenly dimming to a purple hue. She knew he could see better in this and she was right. Rhya could see the man's iridescent orbs focusing on whatever lay behind her.

"Don't move." He warned her.

"Wasn't planning on it." She replied sarcastically as glowing light began to appear behind her.

Pinks, purples, greens and blues began to pulsate behind her.

"I was on a pilgrimage, just a pilgrimage. That is all." Imam said in a panicked disbelief.

"This is bad huh?" Jack asked.

"Give it a minute." Riddick replied, watching the creatures advance. "Imam, pray."

Rhya closed her eyes and groaned to herself. If someone like Riddick told you to do something religious, it was bad. Sure enough, a moment passed before brilliantly glowing tentacles began to appear around her, the mystical beings they were attached to gliding into view. They would have been beautiful if she wasn't certain how dangerous they were.

The Merc that was stupid enough to fight with Riddick and tumbled into the pit took aim at the creatures, firing repeatedly only to miss. They glided out of his line of sight faster than any of them could register. The lights went dim, the creatures gone when green arms appeared. One tentacle wrapped around the man's arms, the other his legs and held him firmly. The group of captures didn't know what the alien touched the Merc with only that he screamed. The man screamed for his life until there was nothing but remnants falling to the ground.

Riddick stiffened his gaze when the purple creature lunged for him. It's thin luminescent arms shot forward and tried to catch him but Riddick was faster than he looked for a man his size. He dove and dipped out of the way, avoiding the dangerous appendages. Without warning it tossed him into the ball Jack was standing on. She fell, the thing around her neck snapping tight and nearly breaking it before Imam rolled to her aid. After that, everything happened so quickly, if you blinked you'd have missed it.

At one point, Imam and Jack sent their only remaining ball towards one of the creatures and to save the two from choking, Rhya rolled hers towards them but she was too far away to join it. Instead, she climbed her rope as high as she could before dropping, snapping the weak chain and landing on the ground. Riddick still fought, slicing bits and pieces from the monsters as he went. When he finally landed a blow, the monster shrieked and screamed as it crumbled to the ground dead. One left.

Riddick was busy fighting with the animal as Rhya went about trying to get Imam and Jack free of their confines. She leapt up onto the sphere higher than they thought she could but the holy man still helped her by standing on the opposite end to keep it from rolling. She struggled briefly before standing beside them, gripping the chain and snapping it. The three went to jump down before the ball was knocked from beneath them when Riddick was slammed into the side of it. The last creature grabbed him, his arms suspended to his sides.

Rhya moved towards the display, grabbing the creature and giving the man the few seconds he needed. He called to Jack to throw the shiv and she did. He caught it, sliced through the alien's tentacles and shredded its insides. It screamed, withered away and fell to the ground in a hulk, its luminescent blood dripping to the ground around Riddick's feet.

"Ew…" Rhya sighed, wiping as much of the gunk off as she could.

Without warning, clapping was heard overhead. The lights flickered on, Riddick pulling his goggles back down while Jack rushed to Imam's side.

"Bravo!" the creepy woman chimed, still clapping. "The grace! The expression! The sheer violence of it! Exquisite."

"The shiv." Riddick grumbled through clenched teeth.

"What?" Imam asked quietly.

"Give me the knife." He said.

Imam seemed to understand quickly and reached for the blade still imbedded in the monster. He held it firmly, the crazy woman high above still spouting how she felt about her supposed art. Riddick was the only one who understood the nonsense she was spouting having seen the other murderers she had suspended in cryo. He didn't plan on being one of them.

With his chance presented, Imam threw the man his knife. Riddick didn't hesitate to shove it into his neck. Jack winced, Rhya closing her eyes and trying to ignore him digging into his flesh and ripping something from him. It looked like an octopus, mechanical but still like the sea creature. Again, he seemed to know something they didn't.

"Down!" he bellowed.

The wall exploded the moment the small projectile was launched at it. Rubble flew through the air, surrounding them and nearly knocking a few of them out. They raced for the new doorway and disappeared into a random corridor.

"Find them!"

The witch's voice echoed behind them as they ran for a place to hide.

"I'm going to kill that chick." Rhya growled as they propelled themselves through the ducts where the gravity was almost nil.

"I might beat you to it." Riddick replied.

She smiled and glanced to the man beside her. Her smile faded.

"You're bleeding."

He didn't bother looking and shrugged before they turned a corner. When they reached an area where the gravity returned, they switched to walking. Riddick seemed to have memorized more of the ship's layout which was fine by them. They weren't certain how he knew, but he did.

As they made their way into another corridor, something in the distance roared. It forced the four to pause and look behind them.

"What the hell was that?" Jack asked worriedly.

"Nothing good." Rhya replied.

"Don't move." Riddick warned.

He kept his ears trained on the distance, hearing the metallic clank of the thing walking. It was big, heavy and coming their way.

"Move." He said firmly.

He didn't have to tell any of them twice. Imam and Jack may not have known exactly what was following them, and Rhya didn't either, but she could feel it in the ground, every step, hear it clearly and knew it was bad.

The group stayed low, following Riddick until they came to a turbine of some sort, hanging high above them and stretching nearly then entire height of the ship. Riddick rolled his head towards Rhya, the four still eying the structure.

"You think you got it in you?" he mocked under his breath.

She looked to him and cocked a brow.

"You think you can keep up? You're getting kind of old."

He chuckled deep within his chest before they began to scale to monolith. Rhya took it to much easier than they did, light on her feet and nimble. Riddick wasn't far behind and Imam surprised them all with his dexterity given his age and the gown he wore. Jack was another matter entirely. She was weak still, a child and it was beginning to show more now than ever. She was getting tired and the adrenaline from before was wearing out. She wouldn't last much longer and Riddick knew it.

Shots rang out as Riddick grabbed Jack and heaved her small frame up onto the highest point. He caught a bullet to the shoulder when he had.

"You're injured." Imam told him concerned.

"Just a graze." Riddick replied, glancing down at the people swarming below. "This time."

"We have to keep moving." Rhya sighed.

Riddick nodded and the running commenced once again. It didn't matter how hard they pressed themselves, they didn't seem to make any headway and Jack was slowing down. Reluctantly, Riddick slowed, hearing the beast behind them.

"We cannot stop." Imam breathed, bending over and trying to steady his erratic heart.

"We're not going to outrun this thing, not the four of us."

"I can keep up." Jack whined.

"Someday maybe." He replied, his eyes traveling up and taking in everything. "Duck out in there," he pointed to a small gap between machines. "And wait for this thing to pass. Then go to the flight deck."

"And where do you think you're going?" Rhya asked, her irritation coming through.

Riddick had already taken a few steps away when she came up behind him. He turned to face the young woman with her hands on her hips.

"You take them to the flight deck." He said simply. "Get them out of here and don't come back."

She raised her brows at the man in disbelief.

"Really?" she asked sarcastically. "And what, leave you here?"

He didn't reply and that was more than she needed.

"I'm not leaving you on this ship."

A smile touched the corner of his lips.

"Careful. Your humanity's showing." He teased.

She openly rolled her eyes.

"I'll leave you on a rock any day," she told him simply. "But, not on this ship and not with that psycho hunting you."

Something crashed in the distance. The creature was closing in and they knew it.

"Hide." He told her sternly before dashing off.

Rhya openly growled at the man before grabbing Jack and all but shoving the young woman into the nook, Imam behind her. Jack opened her mouth to speak but was silenced quickly with Imam's hand over her mouth. Mercs rushed by them, guns aimed and ready for the convict. Rhya kept her keen eyes on the area just beyond their hiding spot when the heavy footfalls grew closer. A moment later, they saw it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part III**

Rhya felt her jaw go slack at the god awful creature. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, some alien bloodhound apparently and disgusting to boot. Metal encompassed most of it, gnashing teeth, exposed flesh and muscle and the most haunting groan of a roar she'd ever heard. The thing made her skin crawl and second guess letting Riddick go alone to deal with it.

"Come on." She finally said, moving out after the coast was clear.

Imam followed the young woman but Jack hesitated, staring at the distant area Riddick had disappeared.

"We just can't leave him." She said softly, obviously on the verge of tears. Again. "We can't help him if we leave."

"Sometimes," Imam told her, gently taking her shoulder. "That is exactly how it works."

"Let's go." Rhya snapped, not willing to hang around despite worrying the same thing about the convict.

Reluctantly and tearing more than Rhya expected, Jack followed her and Imam. It was harder to find the right duct than she would have liked or thought, but eventually they did. Imam went up first, pushing open the slat in the floor of the hanger. Without warning, he was bashed in the back of the head and knocked out. Jack wasn't paying attention and soon was lifted up into the air. She struggled against the one that held her, Rhya dashing up and out of the hatch to see the man in white holding the girl by the throat. She rushed for him, tackling him in the side and sending him to the ground.

He rolled, dropping Jack instantly and gathered himself faster than Rhya had expected. He turned, springing to his feet and smiled at her. The young woman took her own stance, low to the ground, her eyes never blinking or leaving the green glasses he wore over his own.

"Hey!"

Attention shifted to the gruff voice. Riddick slinked forward wearing a shirt that wasn't his, his arms bleeding as were the other injuries he had sustained. Rhya wondered briefly what damage he caused if he looked like that.

"You want a piece of me?" he asked the man in white. "I'll give you a shot at the title."

Jenner chuckled and smiled happily, standing upright and ignoring Rhya completely. With his back turned, she shifted her attention to the others, more than confident Riddick could take care of the arrogant man. She moved to Imam to make sure he was still breathing when the fight broke out. It happened quickly; flesh hitting flesh, Riddick taking shots as well as giving them and as much as she wanted to join in to hurt the man in white, Rhya forced herself not to. In fact, she had to stop Jack from rushing the two and fighting. Though, to be honest, save weakly wristed hits and slaps, Rhya didn't think Jack held much of a chance.

Rhya helped the holy man and saw the gash bleeding slowly on the back of his head. He groaned from the headache throbbing in between his temples at the harsh contact. She knew it must hurt and pitied him. He wasn't a fighter and likely never would be. So she gently curled her hand over the back of his head, holding the wound as closed as she could as the fight between Riddick and Jenner continued.

Jack stood beside them, miming her own fighting stances as Riddick wrapped a cable of some kind around Jenner's neck. The man yelled out as well as he could before swiping his blade across it, severing the hold Riddick had on him. Before he could aim again at the murderer, the lights began to dim before going out completely. Jenner had cut the lights of his own free will and now he was as blind as the rest of them. Well, not all of them.

The man in white screamed loudly in pain, the sound making the onlookers' blood run cold as the reserve lights began to flicker to life. Riddick stood over the thin man, his shiv dug deeply into Jenner's skull and sinking further every time Riddick pushed. The blade slowly disappeared into the man's left eye socket before Riddick released him, letting him fall limply to the ground.

"Told you that was going to happen." He grumbled nonchalantly.

Riddick breathed deeply his satisfaction before bending down and ripping the shiv from the man's skull and wiping it on the once pristine wardrobe, slipping it into the back of his pants as he walked towards the nearest ship.

"It is over." Imam sighed relieved.

"Come on." Rhya told the man calmly. "Let's get off this heap."

The holy man nodded and with her help stood. Jack approached Riddick as he opened the hatch of the ship, Imam and Rhya not far behind. He glanced over his shoulder at the two as the back opened up and they were presented with a new challenge.

The crazy woman from before, the one none of them have given much thought to since leaving the pit, was standing in the bay of the small ship, an antique gun aimed at Riddick. Without warning she fired. The bullet ripped through Riddick's shoulder, forcing him to cry out and fall to his knees. He gripped the wound, more tired than he cared to admit with everything that had happened already. He looked up at her from his kneeling position, the blood seeping through his fingers and glared at her.

"Back to hell you bleeding, stinking savage!" she bellowed in a shrill voice.

A roar ripped through the air and Rhya flew over Riddick. She slammed into the woman's midsection taking her violently to the ground. The enraged young woman didn't hesitate to grip the woman's jaw and jerk her head viciously to the side. The bones snapped and the witch went motionless.

"Very uncivilized thing you just did Rhya." He said evenly.

"Sue me." She replied, standing and making her way to his side.

She helped the large framed man stand and together the four of them went into the ship. Rhya aided Imam first, patching the back of his head while Jack fell asleep in one of the chambers cradling the gun none of them had seen her pick up.

"Thank you." He told the young woman kindly.

She nodded to him and went about working on her own injuries as he walked to Riddick's side.

"Trouble?" he asked the Holy Man.

"Yes, but not back there." Imam replied, taking a seat beside the man. "What I fear lies ahead."

Riddick noticed the aged man glance to the sleeping figure and he understood.

"Jack."

Imam nodded remorsefully.

"I am worried for her Riddick. I fear, if she continues on this path, she will end up like…"

"Me." Riddick finished.

Imam nodded, fearing the young girl who idolized the killer would want so eagerly to please him and follow in his footsteps. He wasn't wrong to worry either. They all saw it. Though Rhya was protective of her, Jack wanted to be like Riddick, seeing Rhya just confirmed she could. She wanted to be ruthless and vicious like him and that was a bad thing to be. He sighed and understood, typing in a location to the onboard computer.

"I'm taking you to New Mecca." He said simply.

Imam nodded unsurely and stood, making his way to the back to sit as Rhya took his place, medical supplies in her hands. He glanced to it before returning his gaze out the windshield.

"I don't need it." He told her evenly.

"I don't care." She replied in the same tone, grabbing his arm whether he wanted her to or not.

Rhya didn't speak and neither did he as she wiped the blood clean and began to dress his wounds. She knew this was likely the only time he'd bother caring for them so she might as well make it count. Light snoring was heard in the background and they knew the others were asleep. Riddick still kept his gaze outside, holding his arm in place for Rhya but not meeting her eyes. She one the other hand noticed the new coordinates put into the nav system.

"So, New Mecca?"

"Yup. You're getting off too."

"Like hell." She replied in the same calm tone.

Riddick rolled his head in the seat as she tapped off the bandage and shoved his seat. He spun, keeping his eyes on her as she rotated the Captain's seat without asking him to move. When she was presented with his new injuries, she reached for her new supplies and continued to work.

"I'm not arguing with you." He told her simply.

"Neither am I." she said, slowly meeting his eyes for the first time. "I'm not getting off at New Mecca."

Riddick sighed, his eyes moving to the rear of the hull where the other two were sleeping.

"I'm going to have Mercs on my back."

"I'm aware."

Riddick sat there trying to find the words to explain why she was staying there without question. He had to figure out what he felt comfortable saying. He felt things like that, empty promises and such, were a waste of air and words. He'd rather say nothing at all. All he knew was he didn't want her, Imam or Jack to be hurt and the chances of that around him were higher than he wanted to risk.

He wasn't going to tell her he loved her because he didn't know what love was. He didn't love his parents. He didn't love any God or Gods. He didn't love himself either. Hell, he didn't like himself let alone actually love, so he wasn't going to tell her anything he didn't believe.

"I'm dropping you at New Mecca." He finally sighed. "Even if I have to knock you out and tie you to a merchant cart."

Rhya laughed lightly, looking up at the man now looking at her as she taped down the patch of gauze over his bullet hole.

"Try it." She warned teasingly.

A weak and weary smile touched his lips, his head lazily moving forward once more. The adrenaline was subsiding and he was getting tired. Maybe he'd sleep this time, who knew? But he did know that Rhya was leaving at New Mecca, even if he did have to roll her out the back without landing on the planet's surface. He'd do it too. Riddick knew she would safely land so long as he was lower than twenty feet. It was a last resort, but he'd do it if she made him.

"There." She said, patting down the remaining bandage.

Riddick looked down and spun the chair to face out the window again. He didn't thank her. He knew he didn't have to.

"Get some sleep." She told him, setting her things down and resting her legs on the console like him.

Riddick looked at her as she closed her eyes and made herself comfortable. He smiled, mostly to himself, and knew there was going to be hell to pay when she woke up. Oh well. She'd get over it… maybe… probably not.


	15. Chapter 15

**This is the Chronicles section of my story. I don't know about you guys, but I'm anxiously/skeptically awaiting the new movie. I wonder how it will come out. But, before then, I figured I'd submit this. I've had a horrible case of writer's block and figured I'd just sumbit a story that I finished a while ago, hoping something would spark for my other stories. Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy it!  
**

**A Different Chronicles**

"_The whole Universe is circling the drain. It all had to end some time…"_

**Chapter 1:**

Imam's words swam through Riddick's mind as he followed the congregation of people into what used to be the town square. The men in suits of armor followed, lining streets and already positioned themselves as the new leaders of this planet. In ten hours they dominated everything and still all he heard were Imam's words.

"_The comet always precedes them, these World Enders."_

"_You would abandon us, just like you did them?"_

"_Jack went looking for you. People died. She went to prison, a world where the surface is too hot to survive."_

"_Rhya was on a planet in the Acolyte system where you left her, one of the many to be swallowed by these people, one of the many to die."_

Those words echoed through his mind as though he was still repeating them from beyond the grave, his deep voice lofty and mystic as it told him everything he didn't want to hear. Jack was gone, turned into him regardless of how many worlds he put between them. Rhya was dead. The words didn't feel right, disgusting to even think. She went down fighting sure, but it didn't matter how skilled you were when the entire planet was blown to hell. There was nowhere for her to escape and he couldn't help but feel guilty for both, for all three actually. Of all of them to get off the Dark Planet, only he and Jack survived, and he wouldn't truly call what Jack was doing survival.

"Join him," a cold voice called, bringing Riddick out of his thoughts. "Or join me."

Riddick's eyes slowly moved along the groups of Hellion residents as they dropped to their knees to the man with the four heads. He was less than impressed. The men and women around him were on their knees making his lack of response all the more evident. He didn't care. He wasn't here for any of them. Riddick was here to do right by Imam and his family.

"This is your one chance." A new voice demanded. Riddick glanced to his side and watched as another soldier in the sea of many approached, his armor weathered and distressed. At least this one looked like he fought. "Take the Lord Marshall's offer and bow."

"I bow to no man." Riddick answered evenly, his voice rumbling and carrying easily to the ears of everyone nearby.

The soldier cocked a brow, gripping the sides of his helmet and removing it. Braids fell free when the sickly pale man revealed himself. His cold, nearly dead eyes stayed fixed securely to Riddick.

"He is no man." He answered firmly. "He is the holy half-dead who has seen the Underverse."

"Look," Riddick replied, less enthusiastic or worried than the man in armor seemed to like. "I'm not with everyone here. But I will take a piece of him."

Riddick pointed to the man nearest the center of the dais, not the Lord Marshall, but the beast beside him with a knife permanently imbedded in his back. The man turned, grumbling like a monster before spinning a pair of intensely large blades in his hands. The man at Riddick's side chuckled and nodded.

"A piece you shall have."

The pale ghost of a man stepped aside and let the beast with the axes move forward. His eyes never left the hollow goggles of Riddick. Without warning, the man swung at the con. Riddick leaned back enough to be missed entirely by the attack and ducked another. The weapons were frightening, sharp, deadly but large. They were heavy metal and to swing something like them took more energy than a normal person realized. All Riddick had to do was avoid being hit by the anvil sized blades.

As he ducked another shot, Riddick gripped the hilt of the small blade in the man's back and ripped it violently from the place it had been resting. He spun around and jammed it into his attacker's side. Repeatedly. Who says prison doesn't teach you anything?

With a final deadly jab into the man's only weak spot in the armor, Riddick pushed him back and watched as he tumbled down the steps, dead. The crowd, those who weren't with the Lord Marshall, gasped from the action and moved quickly as the lifeless hulk fell.

Satisfied and finished with what he'd done, Riddick turned to leave. The people moved out of his way without hesitation.

"Stop him!"

Riddick paused as soldiers stepped into his path. He eyed them irritated. He could see their fear; smell the scent of it rolling off them like a thick smoke. They weren't stupid enough to want to fight him, but whoever yelled the order frightened them more. Slowly, he turned to see the man with four heads walking towards him.

The Lord Marshall walked towards Riddick; he cocked a brow at the body on the ground and ripped the knife from its new position. Still walking forward, Riddick felt his muscles tense with the thought of another fight. The large man continued his approach, the knife firmly held in his grip.

"Irgun, one of my best." He said, coming to a stop in front of the man.

Riddick shrugged indifferently.

"If you say so."

The Lord Marshall's face darkened further at the cocky man in black.

"What do you think of this blade?" he asked, pressing pass his aggravation with the situation.

Riddick snatched it from his hand quickly, hearing the men around him tense and grab their own weapons, fearing what he might do. Instead, he spun it effortlessly through his fingers and along his hand before handing it back.

"I think it's a half gram heavy on the back end."

The tension grew within the crowd when the Lord Marshall let a smile touch his face.

"In our faith," he replied in a voice about as close to friendly as he could muster. He wrapped his hand around Riddick's and held tight. "You keep what you kill."

Riddick fought the urge to retract his hand from the stranger, unwilling to appear as anything other than what he was when the Lord Marshall's face turned more serious than before. His eyes narrowed on the convict's hand where their grip was connected.

"Are you familiar to me?" he asked in an airy voice before meeting Riddick's eyes once again. "Have we met before on some distant field?"

Riddick growled to himself and pulled his hand back, removing the aggravation from his voice before speaking.

"You think I'd remember." He replied sarcastically.

Lord Marshall scoffed.

"You'd think I would too." He answered with wry smile before it faded. He stepped around Riddick. "Take him before the quasi-dead."

The soldiers gladly mobilized on the man and Riddick knew he was going to have a fight on his hands when yet another voice called out above the men.

"Perhaps the breeder would go," a soft, feminine voice beckoned. A young, beautiful woman with rich brown skin appeared behind a few of the men and slinked towards Riddick. "If you simply asked him."

Riddick watched as the woman in the snake skin dressed moved as fluidly as the reptile, her steps making almost no sound and her deep brown eyes trained intently on him.

"It is a rare offer," she said, moving slowly around the man. "A visit inside Nercopolis."

Riddick leaned forward just enough to take a deep breath, inhaling everything about her as she joined the pale man's side. He could tell instantly the pale man was possessive over the woman. His wife perhaps, maybe just a mistress, but either way he knew what to do to wipe that smug smirk off the soldier's face.

"It's been a long time since I've smelled beautiful." He crooned in his deep, gravely voice.

A smile danced across her lips as she stepped forward once again and looped her arm around his.

"Come," she swooned. "Let me show you the way."

Riddick chuckled within his chest and caught sight of the pale man's angry features before walking with the thin woman towards Necropolis.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 2**

Riddick stood in the center of the massive structure, seeing feet upon feet above his head, nearly to the sky. There were statues of men with horribly pained expressions holding up walls and archways. Deep gray and black slate surrounded him, people walking with the same distant and sinister steps as the soldiers used. And there, in the center of it all was an odd throne covered in sharp jagged edges and points. Looking at it for too long would cut you. He didn't like it. It made his gut turn cold and he wasn't certain why.

The doors suddenly closed behind him. Riddick turned, still feeling the reverberations of the action roll through him. He didn't like this either. The soldiers stood before the doorway, his only known escape and it was making him… touchy. The woman seemed to notice, her hand coming up and gently cupping his chin, directing his head to face her.

"Such beautiful eyes." She cooed coldly, the man having removed his goggles once entering a shaded building. "Come."

Riddick cocked a brow to her, surprised her lithe fingers gripped his arm so tightly. She pulled him until he walked freely on his own accord, following her into the center of the large room.

"The last six Lord Marshalls have called this home." She chimed with a smile. "Magnificent isn't it?"

"I might've gone another way." He replied, still taking in the sights.

"True of us all." The thin man behind him said.

As they continued to walk, Riddick noticed people suspended in a long chamber by their necks. Rather, they were hung by the spikes digging into the sides of their necks. He seemed to be the only one surprised by this.

"Converts." The thin man said, seeing Riddick's hesitation. "Receiving the mark of the Necromunger. They learn how one pain lessens another."

He nodded slowly. He may have been a cruel, remorseless killer, but at least he killed people. He didn't torture them. This was the torture of a cult and there was no other way to say it.

"Forward!"

The stern command echoed loudly through the halls. Riddick's attention shifted, feeling for a moment that they might be coming after him when he noticed a line of people in cuffs being led from one end of the massive room to another. His eyes narrowed on the sight, the men malnourished and thin, sickly pale like any other person locked in a windowless cell would be. It wasn't as surprising as you'd think to someone like him. That was, however, until the final prisoner was brought forward.

The last prisoner was smaller than the others, hunched over with ratty, disgusting black and gray hair hanging over their face. At one point it was braided, the braid still reminiscent and resting against the prisoner's back, but nearly all of the hair had come free and twisted into dirty dreads. It looked like a child compared to the once proud stature of the other men being led before them. Riddick grew angry, remembering being treated the same when he was simply a teen.

"Prisoners." The woman told him, noticing his eyes had yet to blink since spotting the caravan of broken souls. "They are being conditioned for soldiers, or slaves."

"And that one?" Riddick asked, pointing to the one in the end, the one with the dreads.

It wasn't wearing simple shackles like the others. It was wearing the shackles around its wrists, its legs and had about three guards holding guns at it, two more with spears that sizzled and popped with blue electricity. It was obvious they were worried about that one.

"That one has been more of a problem." She sighed, obviously annoyed. "She was to be conditioned but is apparently stronger willed than expected. She's being taken for extermination. Unfortunately, the repeated conditioning has had… _unpleasant_ side effects."

His eyes never left the tiny prisoner who for no reason stopped in the center of the throne room. She. The braid led to the female quality of the prisoner, but thinking it was a young girl, a young girl like Jack… Riddick's anger began to bubble into rage, the ire within begging to come to the surface. If these people thought he was a problem when he fought the beast with a level head, they'd shit themselves when they saw him enraged.

"Move." One of the soldiers commanded.

The figure did nothing and one of the men leading the despondent group reacted. He jabbed the figure in the spine with the electric prod. Riddick felt his stomach turn when the young woman let out an ear piercing shriek, mixing with the unnatural sound of popping voltage. The sound echoed easily, the young woman falling to her knees.

"Get up!" he demanded.

She didn't move. When the soldier moved forward to stab her again, she reacted. She planted her palms against the floor and kicked back like a mule, propelling the man away from her and into a group of spectators. The soldiers with the guns took aim and fired, but she was faster. Despite being underfed, she moved fast enough to barely be hit by the energy blasts. Instead, they hit the long chains connecting her legs together, freeing her almost instantly. With her legs now capable of moving on their own, she leapt up and over the other man with the cattle prod and wrapped her wrist chains around his neck, snapping it back and hiding behind him.

Milky eyes shined as best they could through the black and dirty tresses hanging in her face. She hid mostly behind the man's shoulder, half of her face hidden completely as she looked at the ones mobilizing on her, her gaze darting like a frightened, angry animal being backed into a corner. The slightest movement drew them.

The pale man that had walked in with them moved towards the disruption, his gun aimed. Without hesitation, he shot the soldier the prisoner was holding and sent them both flying backwards.

The soldier lay dead on the small woman, but she shoved him off, now freed enough from her restraints. She knelt low on the ground, watching the others aiming their weapons at her when her eyes fell to Riddick. He felt cold seep into his veins at the familiar face looking back at him. He scowled.

"Rhya." He mumbled to himself.

Despite looking directly at the young woman, he didn't know if she was looking at him. Their eyes may have been connected, but there was nothing, not a single note of recognition on her part.

"Seize her!" Vaako yelled, long since having lost his patience.

The men mobilized and rushed for her but she was faster than them. Riddick watched as she jumped over them, racing through the lines of people, dodging shots and swipes with other weapons before propelling herself up onto one of the statues. She climbed, the men missing their shots before she disappeared over the lip of the second floor. A few people screamed, women, as she continued her tirade. The only way he knew where she had gone were the few soldiers being thrown over the edge.

Glass shattered. Silence.

"Find her!" Vaako bellowed.

A dozen or better soldiers rushed out the newly opened doors and into the city to find the creature that had disappeared. Riddick couldn't tell if he was relieved that the young woman was alive or hurt that she had been turned into something else.

"Come."

He looked down and realized the woman from before was pulling him towards another area of the vast room as though nothing had ever happened. His brow creased slightly but he followed her regardless, uncertain of what else to do at the moment.

He was soon led into another chamber, one with even more unnerving statues. These actually looked like bodies, mummified bodies that were pinned to the walls with spikes through their brains. What the hell was wrong with these people?

"There now." She cooed softly, leading him up onto a platform. "That is just perfect."

Riddick cocked a brow to the woman with the unsettlingly calm and falsely endearing voice as she walked around the platform and towards the door again without so much as a misstep. He watched her closely.

"Remember, the more you struggle," she continued in a singy voice. "The greater the damage will be."

He glared lightly at the woman as the doors were closed behind her. His mind was in more places than he thought possible and seeing their Lord Marshal standing high above wasn't helping things. He was on display now, like some kind of animal.

"_A new one you've brought us."_ A haunting voice whispered.

The sound surrounded him like the smoke lingering on the floor. Riddick instantly grabbed his knife and held it out, ready for an inevitable attack. His keen eyes scanned the area around him but he saw nothing.

A hum boomed from beneath his feet, the platform turning on with a blue glow. Suddenly he was jostled, the dagger slamming into the platform. Riddick felt every muscle being pulled down, like tons of weight was trying to drag him into Hell and he refused to let it.

The smoke on the floor began to slowly billow into the same platform, every muscle in his body trying to fight the force that was pulling everything into it. With another whoosh, he succumbed to its power. Riddick's body nearly collapsed into the platform, slamming down with tremendous force.

He growled, every muscle burning as he fought, every vein popping the longer he tried to do nothing more than stand. He wouldn't submit. He wouldn't let whatever was trying to control him win.

The walls suddenly opened, tombs beginning to slide into view and surround him completely. Things, things he assumed used to be people, were writhing beneath sheer black fabric, moving around as though they were in pain.

"_Making entry."_ One of them whispered. "_This won't take long."_

Riddick let out a pained groan, feeling some invisible power starting to pry into his brain, invade him and see everything he wanted to keep silent.

"_Entering his neo-cortex. Ah… the Riddick."_

"Regress." Lord Marshall commanded from on high. "Search his fresh memories."

Riddick fought the urge to scream when he felt it dive deeper into his mind. He swore someone was trying to dig a spike into the side of his brain to sift out everything they wanted.

"_There are thoughts of one called… Jack."_ The voice continued, the memories being brought freshly through Riddick's mind as it pushed its way through. "_And another, a prisoner… Rhyalla."_

Riddick let out a loud roar at the intrusion.

"_And now thoughts of an elemental."_

He struggled to push the voices out, to make them find something irrelevant or guide them from the things that were important but he couldn't. They still delved and forced their way in.

"_Furyans."_

The Lord Marshal tensed and perked. His eyes fell to the man still trying to keep his wits.

"Tell me where he comes from." He demanded. "Who are his people? These are things I must know."

The chanting continued, the voices still taking over his brain, seeking out things he himself didn't know. They relayed everything and he continued to try and move, to do anything under his own will. Without warning, the bodies around him began to convulse and scream.

"_Kill the Riddick! Kill the Riddick!"_ they screamed around him.

Glass broke, the bodies moved as though being tortured and all the while calling out for his death.

"Kill the Riddick." Lord Marshall agreed.

All hell broke loose.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 3**

Riddick raced through the destroyed and desolate streets of the once prominent city. There wasn't a soul around save him and the ship he heard in the distance. It wouldn't be long before they found him.

Seeing a fire raging nearby, he ducked into the alleyway to hide in the flames. If the ship had heat sensors, he could lose it easily enough for now. When he turned the corner, he noticed the ship loom over head for a moment before moving on without him. His breathing settled marginally, but the calm was shattered with the sounds of fighting. His brows pulled together and slowly he approached.

Fierce yelling and screaming shot through the quieted streets and he soon saw why. The young woman from before, the new Rhya, was struggling against the man holding her while the other tried to grab her flailing legs. Apparently they'd caught up with her, but not before she did some damage. He saw blood on her clothes, more than what would have just come from her. She struggled against the soldiers like a wild animal and part of him wondered how true that statement might be.

The small trio came closer, the soldiers still trying to control the young woman and drag her towards their ship so she could be exterminated as originally planned. Riddick stepped back into the shadows, invisible to them and their prey. When the one attempting to hold her feet was close enough, large arms shot out and grabbed him, pulling him deep within the same blackness. The soldier screamed out before going deathly silent.

The one holding Rhya stiffened, still trying to control the woman wearing handcuffs, but fear saturated him as to what may have happened. Riddick stepped out; casually wiping the bloodied blade with a piece of the uniform the man he attacked was wearing. All movement stopped from the remaining soldier to Rhya. The two stared at the man with the hollow black eyes.

"I'll give you to the count of three to drop the lady." Riddick finally said, looking up at the soldier.

"Back away." He commanded in a shaking voice.

"One." Riddick began, his voice unchanging as he took a step forward.

"I'm warning you."

"Two."

Still Riddick approached. The soldier, if you could call him that in the first place, looked like he was going to wet his armor. The air was growing thick with tension while the young man holding Rhya was becoming more fearful by the moment.

"Three." He growled.

Not bothering to take a step, the soldier ran from Riddick before he could be harmed, dropping Rhya without regard. The convict watched as the man disappeared into the distance. His head slowly turned back to the young woman, her eyes never leaving his.

He took a step forward and still she didn't move. She didn't look frightened or concerned in the least with the convict. She didn't even look like she knew him. Nothingness stared back at him through cloudy eyes. Rhya was blank.

Riddick kept moving forward to the shackled young woman, waiting for any sign of life but it never happened. He wondered what they had done to her, what could have possibly happened to Rhyalla Kendros to turn her into… nothing. She was nothing now.

Groaning metal diverted their attention upwards. The same ship as before had found him again, probably because of the man he let live. Without hesitation, Riddick grabbed the chain connecting Rhya's wrists and pulled her with him to run. She was trying to hide from the same people so she didn't need to be told twice.

The two raced through the streets, diving around chunks of fallen buildings, breaks in the road to escape the people hunting them down from above. He glanced to his side and noticed Rhya pull ahead of him, nearly leaving him in the dust. She raced up the length of a broken wall and leapt into the air, landing without a breaking in step and rolled before jumping back up and continuing on, all without shoes. She was barefoot and beating him in the run.

Explosions rang out above. Riddick looked up in time to see the ship that had been stalking them come careening down to the planet's surface.

"Down!" he bellowed.

Rhya turned in time to see the structure coming towards her and did as she had been commanded. She ducked down, digging her heels into the ground and stopping herself before the ship slammed into the planet's surface. Fire, concrete, twisted metal and bodies of those within spewed around the area in front of them as it came to rest.

The metallic machine groaned as it turned end over end and slammed into the ground, grinding to a halt before them. It had missed the two by mere feet and they knew it. Riddick stood, staring at the twisted heap as Rhya pushed herself up to her feet. Her eyes were trained on the same thing while he approached from behind. She did little more than turn her head to the side, no bothering to meet the man's gaze. Sensing that he wasn't an immediate threat, Rhya's eyes moved back to the wreckage. She was ready to flee when everything suddenly went black.

Riddick's arms shot out and caught the woman before she crumbled to the ground. He tossed the chunk of stone aside he had used to knock her out. The large man lifted the withered young woman into his arms in a bridal cradle, her head falling limply back and finally giving him a better view of her face. She looked terrible, sunken cheeks, bags under her eyes. She looked sick and he was the only one to blame for it.

"Sorry kid." He sighed.

He stared down at her, feeling slightly guilty for bashing her in the back of the head, something he didn't like. Not the violence, the guilt. He hated emotions to be honest; they made people do stupid things. His attention however, was soon diverted.

"Let me guess." Riddick sighed, hearing the non-too-quiet footsteps coming up behind him. "You brought a five man crew this time."

"Couple of things you could have done better." Toombs replied irritated, walking forward and pulling down his hood. "First, trash that locator beacon in my ship, the one you jacked. And second, now this is the most important, dust my dick when you get a chance."

Riddick grinned as he turned, the body still resting in his hands. The men behind Toombs, the girl too, eyed the woman in his grip, silently wondering if she was already dead and he planned to eat her or something.

"Any questions?" Toombs asked cockily.

"Yeah," Riddick smiled. "What took you so long?"

The smirk on Toombs' face faltered and he raised a brow on the good half of his face at the convict.

"Who's the girl?" he asked, pointing to the body.

Riddick only shrugged.

"Check her."

A man from behind came forward but didn't want to get close to Riddick and he knew it. The thought made him smile. Guns cocked and when he looked, the remaining bits of the team had them aimed directly at him.

"Put her down." The big idiot demanded.

Riddick scoffed and did as he was told. He set Rhya down as gently as he could before standing, his hands up in front of him. Toombs motioned to the girl Eve. She stepped forward with some cuffs and snapped them on without problem.

"Come on big boy." She told him, pulling him behind her as the Asian guy walked to Rhya's side.

"She got a price?" Toombs asked the man.

He typed in what he needed before the small hand held device scanned Rhya's face. He watched the screen as it turned her features into a computerized version, lines going from one point to another, the places used for identification before scanning the wide list of people with bounties on their heads. It took longer than he thought when the tool beeped and her picture emerged. A smile touched his face.

"What do we got?" Toombs questioned, knowing that sound meant money.

"Rhyalla Kendros. Thirty years old, blah, blah, blah…" he muttered, going through her info. "Two hundred and eighty thousand dead, but five alive."

"The hell is it so much alive?" Eve asked curiously.

The man laughed lightly.

"She's been spliced." He replied. "Work houses always pay more for people like that."

"That's cause they're built for hard labor." Toombs smiled. "Grab her."

One of the other men came forward, the big dumb one that spoke earlier and picked up the girl by the cuffs around her wrist.

"And look at that, already packaged for us." He laughed, slinging her over his shoulder like a duffle bag.

"Well, this looks like it's a nice little pay day huh?" Toombs grinned wickedly. "Let's get the hell out of this shit hole."

The group of five seemed thoroughly happy about the added bonus of the young woman Riddick was holding when they'd come up. It meant they got even more to split. In their mind, that was more than enough.

Riddick put up no fight when they loaded him onto the ship and strapped him into his seat at the back. There wasn't much room for Rhya but already being bound, she was basically tied to an exposed portion of the piping between the last seat on the right and Riddick's spot at the end.

When they took off and dusted their trail, Rhya still hadn't shifted. Riddick wondered how hard he'd hit her in the first place. She was alive, a good sign, but still asleep. With an annoyed sigh, he leaned back further into his seat, trying to get as comfortable as he could and to think about what he was going to have to do to get Jack out of the prison.

It was a three day flight to Crematoria, not long but long enough. He'd already planted the idea in Toombs' head. It was always best when someone thought it was _their_ idea even when it obviously wasn't. It gave them the illusion of control.

"Skittish Toombs." He repeated with a smile. "Very skittish."

The man with the burned face growled irritated at Riddick. He hated the con, most did, but he was determined to get his pay day this time. The price was just too juicy to let go. Though to be honest, if shit went bad this time, he might not do it a third. Fourth… Again. He might not do it again.

"You know something, it's a couple days to the slam Killer," Toombs told him, blowing out the rest of the smoke in his lungs and stomping on the cigarette. "I wouldn't start shit now. Might just ghost your ass and be done with it."

Riddick chuckled darkly again. They all knew Toombs was too greedy to do it. The price of a convict alive was so much greater than dead though why they bothered with that when it was someone like Riddick was beyond anyone. The man was too risky until there was half a mag of ammunition in his skull, just to be sure.

"What are we going to do with this one?" the girl asked, pointing to Rhya.

"I bet I can think of a few things." The burley man chuckled as he walked towards her.

The big dumb idiot that seemed so happy about everything kicked Rhya's leg to the side. It jostled but she remained motionless with her head leaning to the side. The men laughed along with him, save the pilot who kept his attention on the horizon.

"I can probably find a few fun things to do with her in the mean time." He continued, kneeling down and grabbing her chin. He forced Rhya's head up and the hair out of her face. "Not too bad I guess, for street trash."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Riddick warned in a carefree voice.

The man dropped Rhya's chin and shifted enough to face the convict. He cocked an uncaring brow to the man.

"Oh yeah?" he asked sarcastically. "And what are you going to do about it?"

Riddick smiled.

"Not me." He replied, motioning to the woman. "Her."

The man's attention moved back to Rhya, her cold eyes staring directly at him. The look on her face was enough to freak him out, the man fumbling back just far enough. She lunged forward, her legs wrapping around his neck before he had a chance to stand. The upper half of her body was secured sure, but not the lower.

The Merc choked and sputtered as she tensed her grip, adjusting him just enough to bring his throat to the crook of her knee and squeeze tighter. She refused to let go and wasn't going to move with how well they had strapped her down. Rhya growled and hissed an unnatural sound as she moved barely from side to side. The others mobilized to try and pry her legs off but it was too hard. She was stronger than she looked and had a tight enough grip the Merc's face was turning bright red.

Eve reached forward and pulled an asp from her pocket. With a flick of the wrist she extended the steel stick and began beating the side of Rhyalla's legs with it. If it bothered Rhya, she didn't let on, holding as long as she could until she had no choice but to let the man go or risk a fractured bone. He fell to the ground unconscious for a moment before coughing as he sputtered to life. He moved away from her as fast as he could while Rhya sat there glaring at him through her matted hair.

She was bearing her teeth like a wild animal, but the emotion never reached her eyes. Riddick could see it, the glassy eyed look, like a lion left in the zoo for too long. The killer instinct and predatory nature, the life, had slowly been whittled down to nothing. Then again, even a relatively tame lion will lash out when messed with.

"I'm gonna kill that bitch!" the Merc yelled, his voice hoarse and thick from the contact.

"Go change your panties." Toombs sighed. "And get over it. One of you tie down her legs."

Rhya didn't move as she was tied down, something they hadn't expected, but it didn't make them move any slower. With a set of tow straps, they wrapped her legs together tightly and threaded it through a couple of holes in the ships floor, ensuring she couldn't raise them.

"Alright, lock down and set the course. Let's get some shut eyed before we land on Hell." Toombs called, moving to his seat and locking himself in.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 4**

Riddick still smiled to himself. He loved teasing women, or scaring them, regardless he loved the reaction and reveled in it. After all, Eve was the only mercenary he didn't instantly want to skin alive. She had been flustered after she regained her seat, taking another sleeping pill to ensure she would be out for the next thirty hours until they made it to Crematoria. She passed out soon enough and like before, Riddick was the only one conscious in the entire ship. He hated that he never seemed to sleep when it came to things like this, not enough to be happy when he had to travel for long distances.

Hours or better had passed when he noticed Rhya stir. She was asleep, dreaming or having nightmares, he couldn't tell which. Her face was twisting and relaxing, tensing and so forth as though she were fighting someone in her head. If she was, it didn't look like she was winning.

Without warning, she lurched forward, an animalistic gasping sound coming from her throat as her eyes darted frantically around the immediate area. She was confused for a brief moment before recognition took hold and she seemed to realize it was somewhere she didn't want to be. Rhya scowled and fought the growl that wanted to leave her lips. Still she looked around and eventually her eyes shifted to Riddick.

Rhya squared herself on him as much as she could from her forced position, her head facing him directly as she stared through long locks at the silver eyes reflecting back at her. His brows pulled together almost sadly at the lack of anything looking back at him. All he saw was rage.

"You with me Rhya?" he asked in a low voice.

Her brows twitched before she shielded her confusion, but he noticed.

"Are you with me?" he repeated.

Without speaking a word to the man, Rhya leaned back and let her head fall against the wall behind her. She looked indifferent to him entirely, like he didn't matter in the least, something he'd never seen from her before. Even if she hated him there was an emotion, but now more nothingness.

"The fuck did they do to you?" he asked, mostly to himself, not expecting an answer from the constantly silent woman.

"Slicing." She muttered, the word barely leaving her lips. "Always stabbing. Spikes. Images in my brain. Shadows. Screaming. Wings. Darkness." Riddick narrowed his eyes on her. She didn't sound the same, her voice wispy, weak and as vacant as her eyes. She was babbling too, spouting random words and odd sentences that made no sense. "Rain. Blinding ice. Screaming. Eyes..." Her head rolled towards the man watching her and turned quiet. "Empty. Evil. Cold. Haunting. Like a storm, silver and white."

Riddick's eyes went a bit wider than before as her head moved back to its previous position, facing forward and ignoring him again. When she finally spoke, she spouting nonsensical sentences that wouldn't make the slightest bit of sense to anyone in the Verse, save him. The Dark Planet when the sun went out. That had to be where the rain, the wings, the darkness and screaming came from.

The eyes he knew were him. Years ago, when they hooked up after he escaped from the slam that gave him his new peepers, she always told him they looked like a storm that never rested. But the stabbing, the slicing and spikes, he could only imagine that was when they began to convert her.

"That it?" he asked, wondering if there was anymore to it than that.

"Nothingness." She muttered softly.

That was five years ago. The last memories she had were five years old, nothing more, and even then it didn't sound like she remembered much of it only the basics. He wondered what the Necromungers had done to her, what the conversion truly did. Rhya's mind was gone and what remained were bits and pieces, flashes of memories that she likely didn't understand.

"Shit." He sighed.

Riddick fell back into his seat. He had hoped there was still something that resembled Rhya left, but the longer he was around her, the less likely it seemed. He didn't know what to do now. Now he had to deal with someone who probably didn't understand a lot of what was happening around her. The only thing he could hope for was Rhya would come back to him at some point.

0o0

The ride to the main chamber of the prison was fast, faster than he'd expected and a hell of a distance from the hanger. Riddick had counted the kilometers internally, a trick one learns with the life he'd had. He'd managed to get rid of the big idiot too, the one that touched Rhya and slobbered on his goggles. It had made Rhya smile, the first indication that there might be a chance she understood her surroundings.

They pulled into the main chamber with a lurch and a jolt from the skiv. Rhya was unhooked first, the least threatening as far as they knew, and shoved ahead of them. Eve kept watch over the girl while the other three kept their guns aimed intently on Riddick. Once within the offices, negotiations began and for Rhya, went relatively quickly.

"I take the girl." The Russian replied, lowering the lever that delivered new prisoners to the bowels of their facility. "She will be entertainment for the men here probably."

A few of the men in his office chuckled and smiled at the implications. Riddick stood at the edge of the hole and watched as Rhya slowly disappeared into the smoky underbelly of the prison. One of the other guards pressed a button releasing the hook the held her and gave her a chance to disappear into the crevasses surrounding the inmates before bringing the hoist back up.

It came at more than double speed and slowed when it reached the top of the wench. Riddick's cuffs were hooked next before he was unceremoniously shoved over the hole and lowered. He shook his head the longer he heard Toombs arguing with the Russian. The rope hitched and he suddenly stopped. Riddick looked up and raised a brow.

"I'd take the money Toombs." He warned moments before the wench began again.

He knew the idiot was haggling over price, a stupid thing to do, but that's what Riddick was betting on. He knew the Merc better than most and knew the type. He was relying on the fact Toombs was an idiot and greedy, the worst mix normally, but his best chance.

Riddick took the time to look around, to see the layout of the prison and it looked like little more than a cave dug deeply into the side of a mountain. There were caverns everywhere, bits and pieces carved out where people would hide either for protection or from the heat. There were still bars everywhere too, rusted metal cages and the like with horrible lights that looked like they were going to fall apart and reveal the wiring within. This place was a shithole and everyone knew it.

It took little time for him to get loose, less to instill his place in the prisoner hierarchy and find Jack. In fact, she helped him out a bit. She seemed to have gotten a bit more cut throat in his years away, but she was still a kid, barely even eighteen years old.

The heat was sweltering; the lava within the planet's core was only a few feet away from the cracks in the ground. It poured through and threatened to choke you if you breathed too deeply. The air was acrid, everyone wearing a thin sheen of sweet at all times from doing nothing more than standing in one place. It made you feel disgusting without even trying.

Riddick walked through the mining tunnels, his eyes scanning his surroundings. A blade was suddenly pressed to his spine. He felt the person behind him, small in frame and knew immediately it was a woman.

"How do I get eyes like that?" she asked in a taunting voice.

He glanced over his shoulder to see her standing there with a wicked smile on her lips.

"Gotta kill a few people."

"Did that." She replied, jamming the bit in a little harder than before. "Did a lot of that."

Riddick moved, grabbing her arm and spun her around before slamming her back into the bars behind her.

"Then ya got to get sent to a slam…"

"One where they tell you you'll never see daylight again?" she snapped. "Only there wasn't one here that could shine my eyes, not even for twenty menthol Kools. Was there _anything_ you told me that wasn't a lie?"

Riddick didn't speak, gripping the young woman tightly and lifting her into the air so she was supported by nothing but his forearm.

"What are you going to do huh?" she asked through forced breath, her head angled to the side. "Go for the sweet spot?"

"Remember who you're talkin' to, Jack."

"Jack's dead." She replied mournfully. "She was weak. She couldn't cut it."

While he was distracted, Jack kicked out a nearby light, forcing the man to release her and shield his eyes from the intense glare. She disappeared quickly. Riddick looked around before spotting her just off to his right. She was eying him, leaning low against the guard rails.

"The name's Kyra now." She told him. "And I'm a new kind of animal."

He watched as she launched herself over the edge and disappeared from sight, slinking back into the steam and to who knew where. The large man stood for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should be worried or impressed with her now. He lightly touched his cheek and pulled back the bit of blood she'd drawn as roaring sounded in the distance.

Riddick took a few steps forward, out from the safety of the cave's overhang to see what he might find. Part of him wondered if it was Rhya communicating with whatever animals lay hidden somewhere else, but it wasn't. He had come to realize she was spliced with some kind of cat, a large breed perhaps from the Earth of old. It made more sense to him than if she'd been bonded with any other species, the young woman always oddly agile. But now it worried him.

When he spotted Rhya, he noticed she was resting, crouched low on a high cliffhanging, watching everything below like some predator. He briefly wondered how true that statement might be. When a human was spliced and their DNA combined with that of anything else, it changed them to the smallest cell. They're muscles grew stronger, their mind faster, senses better, adopting the characteristics of the animal chosen.

So what would happen if the mentality of the human was taken away? What would happen if someone spent days, weeks or years chipping away at the only thing that allowed you to control the animal, to remain in charge? Would it turn you into someone like Riddick, or worse? Would it turn you into a primal creature relying on nothing but instinct to survive, unable to comprehend the world around them?

The latter was the most plausible and where Riddick was leaning. He honestly feared for Rhya. He was frightened that she was lost, somewhere in her mind, trapped by what the Necromungers had done to her, in the shadows and she'd never be able to come back to the light. But as much as that thought worried him, thinking she was gone entirely scared the shit out of him, that what made her _her_ had been killed off by the conversion rituals.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 5**

Riddick woke sharply from a deep sleep, haunted by the same memories that had been following since leaving the Ice Planet. The same woman spoke to him, repeating the same things and still he didn't truly know what it meant.

The air in the prison hadn't changed and he wanted it to end. Ordinarily he wouldn't care, but they were giving him nothing to work with and it was annoying the ever loving hell out of him. He had to find the weakness, the one time where they were exposed before Toombs fled the planet. The Merc's ship was the only one he knew for a fact was there and he knew where to find it. Waiting was making him edgy, a feeling someone like him didn't deal with well.

The massive man made his way down the hallways and towards the only water in the area. It spewed from a busted pipe he assumed, maybe one of the few natural springs that the people who built this place managed to find. Then again, it could have been a perpetual thing, the water turning to steam when it fell to the bottom of the cavern and condensed near the top before the cycle started all over again. He didn't care; he just knew it would make him feel better.

When he turned the corner, he noticed someone else had the same plan he had. Rhya stood beneath the stream, unmoving, unflinching when the icy water spewed down over her. She remained motionless. Riddick stood watching the woman for so long, he felt his insides flinch when she finally moved.

Rhya, ignorant to not only him but others staring at her, grabbed a shiv she'd made from a piece of metal and gripped the end of her long, waist length ratty hair. She brought it over her shoulder and with one swift move sliced nearly a foot of it off and dropped it, watching as the chunk of hair fell to the ground below and land with a wet thwack. She went about cleaning up the rest of her hairstyle, ringing out the dread locks and reveled in the cold water. She didn't want to admit how long it had been since she'd bathed.

She leaned back and let the water rush down her face, something a few of the men seemed to enjoy. Kyra lingered within the shadows herself, glad for once she wasn't the one being ogled but a bit surprised to see Rhya there at all, and with Riddick no less. Though, the two weren't spending anywhere near as much time together as they had on the Dark Planet.

As Rhya stood , opening her mouth to drink some of the liquid, heavy footsteps echoed behind her. She heard them, uncaring while Riddick narrowed his eyes. He wondered if she was as aware as he thought given the thundering water surrounding her. It didn't matter in the end. This prisoner wasn't content in watching her bathe, he felt like touching.

His hand came out to touch her soaking wet arm and spun her around to face him. Rhya jerked to attention but looked indifferent to the situation. He held her upper arms firmly, staring at the torn fabric of her shirt, her stomach bare while the remnants of the shirt hung loosely off her shoulder. The water made it cling to her skin tightly, showing off the rest of her figure that her tight pants had alluded to.

The grimy man holding her was eying her up and down, taking in every detail of her body and moved forward. That seemed to be the final straw. Rhya reacted, thrusting her blade deeply into the man's gut when he met her threshold of tolerance. He grunted from the force, bending over while she stared indifferently at him. With the same ruthlessness as before, she ripped it out and let him fall to the platform she stood on, bleeding profusely from the belly and waited for him to die. When he was close enough, she kicked him over the edge and watched as he bounced off a rock or two before settling on the prison bottom. Her expression stayed unchanging.

Rhya held the knife under the stream of water, washing the rusted metal blade free from blood and stowed it in her waist band before walking off without a second glance to anyone. Riddick walked up to the water afterwards. He heard her leave, the wet thwack of the pants longer than her legs that scraped across the ground with each step before it faded into nothing along with her.

With her now gone, Riddick took his own spot beneath the waterfall. It was a relief and drowned out the moronic people around him. He ran his hands over his skin, wiping free anything that had stuck to him and with it his irritation. Rescuing Kyra would have been so much easier if he had Rhya's help too. Though, perhaps the fact she was even alive was a good thing. Then again, was whatever was going on in her mind even living?

Rhya leapt onto an overhang and laid down, her eyes staring at the lights of the office high above. She heard the people scuttling around her in detail, smelled their disgusting scent and it made her stomach turn. She didn't know where she was or why she was there, only that she was running from a ship and woke up in another. For all she knew, she was captured by the people that were shot down. But then he was there, the one with the eyes that haunted her. She didn't like that.

Her eyes began to flutter closed, the air around her became a faint buzzing in the back of her mind and sleep slowly took over. Real sleep.

_"Well I said you will." He growled angrily, grabbing her shirt and ripping a piece of it open. _

_She instantly tried to shield herself, but he didn't seem to like it. She was smaller than him, so much so, and years younger. The older kid, more a man now, towered over her and made her feel weak. She didn't like feeling weak._

_When he reached out to grab her again she swung. She felt her fist connect, heard the sound, but it barely seemed to register with him. His head slowly turned to face her again, blood trickling from a small cut in his lip._

_"You fucking bitch!" he yelled._

_He reared back and swung. His hit was harder and more direct, smashing against her face and breaking her nose. She felt to the ground, her eyes instantly tearing as she tasted the copper that made it down her face to her lips. She looked up at the man, now bigger than before. He leapt on top of her and began slapping and hitting her repeatedly. She cried out, her own voice echoing back to her._

_Without warning, the man was pulled from her. Another young man, one she had seen around the halfway house before and she knew was barely older than her, was on top of her attacker. He threw his fists without regard, landing one intense blow after another. She heard flesh hitting flesh and then the sound twisted into something more like bones crunching. The man struggled under his attacker, legs kicking but the longer the young man fought, the slower the kicking became until it finally stopped. The hits became nothing more than mushy smacks against the grass._

_Breathing heavy, the young man stood up, staring down at what once was a person. She stood too, looking at the mess left behind. She would have been disgusted ordinarily, but she couldn't make herself care about the dead boy. His head was all but gone, beaten to nothing more than a pulp by the young man._

_The teen turned to see her looking up at him, blood trailing down her face from her nose, a bruise forming on her cheeks. She looked at her savior, a kid she hadn't paid too much attention to until now. He was young, maybe a year or two older than her and obviously as messed up or he wouldn't be there. His deep brown eyes met her green and for some reason, she felt comfortable with him despite the chunks of skull and brain sticking to his bloody knuckles._

_"Did not know who he was fuckin' with." The young man replied in a gravely voice._

_Before she could stop herself, she laughed. A smile touched his lips when sirens sounded in the distance. Police and probably the old bitch that ran the place realized people were missing and was alerting the others to it. Most of the people in her custody were on parole of some kind, delinquents in need of badge oriented supervision. The girl moved quickly and grabbed his hand._

_"Come on. We have to go." She told him urgently._

_And without question, the two ran, disappearing before they could be caught._

Rhya woke with a start, her hand moving to her nose instantly. She could still feel the blood moving from the nonexistent wound from the memories pulsing through her brain. That had been vivid, so much more so than the others and she didn't like it. With a groan, Rhya leaned herself against the heated rock face behind her. She let her head fall forward, running her fingers through her hair when she looked up and noticed the one that seemed to be following her everywhere.

This hadn't been the first time she dreamt of things she didn't understand. There were the ones she had about darkness, about the people screaming in pain and fear, monsters flying overhead and a horrible, grating clicking sound accompanying it. There were others as well, more tidbits she didn't recognize or understand. The only constant seemed to be the bald man and those eyes. The eyes shot through the darkness her mind was consumed in, but without context it meant nothing to her, only aggravation and confusion.

Her hand moved slowly over her mouth, her knees curled towards her chest as she stared at the stranger. He seemed to feel the action and turned to face her. Their eyes locked, or so she assumed, his goggles still in place. She peered over the arm resting on her knees as Riddick's hands came up and pulled his goggles up. He was looking at her the same as she was him and for once, he saw something flash across the milky orbs she now bore. He didn't know if it was recognition yet or not, but there was something there, a flicker of who she once was.

Even clean, Riddick could see the damage done to her in her time with the Necromungers. The bags were still under her eyes, her cheeks still sunken and unlikely to return to normal until she had something to eat other than slop. The grey he had noticed in her hair before in Necropolis, the shade he'd thought was nothing more than dust or grime hadn't faded with her shower. It was a part of her. A streak of near white, silvery hair started above her right eye at her hairline and wove gently through the rest of her black locks, shining in stark contrast to the ebony. Another streak, little more than a wisp in comparison to the nearly inch wide strip was forming above her left. His brows pulled together at the sight. He knew the level of torture, pain and fear involved to turn someone's hair white and the thought of her experiencing it… he almost didn't want Rhya to come back. If she stayed lost in her mind, at least she wouldn't have to remember what happened.

A siren blared loudly above them, a voice coming over the speakers announcing it was _feeding time_. Neither newcomer knew what it meant, but judging by the fear coming from the patrons of this establishment, it wasn't good. Roaring grew in the distance as people scrambled to get out of the way of whatever was coming. Rhya didn't move from her spot, but Riddick climbed up and disappeared behind the stream of water as the creatures were set loose.

~!~


End file.
